Stronger
by Duskyminer
Summary: Amy has been missing for three years, and the Sonic Team had decided to say she had passed away. But now this mysterious pink hedgehog has come into Station Square and is only there for one thing, take Sonic's place as the hero. Who is this girl? And why does she know about Amy? The rating is a T but hopefully will be an M for lemons later. Sequel to Close Call! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: The Pink Angel

"Get away from me!" A yellow fox yelled, not bothering to look back at the three broad hedgehogs behind her. She had streaming tears in her eyes, blurring her vision and making her blink rapidly. The night sky didn't help at all, nor did her blue dress, which she had pick up the front of it and hold it to her mid-thigh to run faster (most un-lady like), or the alleyways looking the damn same. She just wanted to get home, but she knew she wasn't in the right place. She wasn't even near where she wanted to be! In fact, she _knew _she was nowhere near Station Square, where her family must be sick to death waiting for her! Only if someone was here to save her…

"Come on lady!" A menacing male voice chuckled scarily behind her, only a few feet away "We only want to have some fun!" He was a brown hedgehog, with a scar going through his eyelid, letting his red eyes burn through the lady, reminiscing her fearing over him with a naked body; lots of cuts and scars when she was finished, and her eyes crying from the sinister pain. Yes, he _craved _to see him finished work when he gets her, just like the other female animals he's abused.

"Yeah, we just want to hang out, get to know each other a little more. If ya know what I'm sayin…" The hedgehog in the middle winked, making the other two chuckles evilly. He was a green hedgehog, with purple striking eyes. If looks could kill, you would have defiantly been murdered by the guy. He had the same daydream as the other pervert, but he likes to cut the woman dead so that no evidence spreads out. But this woman was just too… beautiful, so maybe he could keep her after they were done.

"You know you want some, lady," The last hedgehog, which was a murky yellow with dull green eyes, growled perverted, starting at her ripe derriere. He was more like the violent quick one, but wants to have the night of his life too. He didn't care if a woman pleads him to stop. Actually, he would most likely carry on another hour if she cries. Nothing could stop him if he wanted something. Overall, there was one abusive, one murderous and one cruel. Not a nice combination to go together.

The female fox took a sharp turn to the left, going down a dark lane. She _really _wished she hadn't. It had various but horrible phrases/words on the wall - followed by crazy weapons just lying around; from maces, to whips, to swords, to daggers. As she was looking at her surroundings, she banged into something cold and metal. She scanned what was in front of her; only to her horror. She saw a metal fence. She quickly tried to climb up the fence, but instantly fell down on the ground, whining in sharp pain from the impact. She saw shadows on the ground, blocking the moonlight behind her. She knew who it was, and didn't want to look back. But because of her temptation, she slowly turned her head, only to see those three hedgehogs looking down at her cravingly.

"Looks like we've got a keeper 'ere lads," The green hedgehog chuckled darkly, kneeling down to reach her level. He gently put his hand on her muzzle, but getting instantly rejected as she turned away. That was the wrong move. He had no emotion on his face as he lifted a fist in the air, preparing to strike her…

_Somebody please help me! _She prayed to herself in tears, ready for the blow. Unfortunately, her prayer wasn't answered. She felt her face landing on the floor with a thud, before her sight was covered by total darkness. She was knocked out cold. She was all venerable for the three hedgehogs to attack. The three creeps laughed evilly, reaching out to touch her…

"Don't you _dare _touch that woman," A female screamed behind the three warningly, seeing them turn to her with a displeased face. As far as the men could see, she was wearing something with very short-shorts (black), showing a lot of her pink thighs, and knee-high black boots with block heels. They couldn't see anything else as a cape was covering her face and the rest of her body. But the thighs were all that needed to set green flags in their minds. The green hedgehog instantly turned fully, and started walking to the pink hedgehog with a deadly smile.

"Oh," He said darkly, still getting closer to her "You wanted to join the fun huh?" He was now in front of her, starting to put his hand on her caped arm and sensually rubbing it up and down "All you needed to do is ask, no need to be jealou-!" He paused when he heard a click near him. He looked at her, seeing her flirty smirk, then her, now free, right beach arm reach across to his hand – which was bending _way _to far back to his ability. Yep, she broke his hand.

"_Over my dead body_…" She whispered spitefully, giving him a hard look that meant business.

He took a few seconds to process it, before screaming venomously – holding his hand with his working hand in a powerful grip and falling to the floor. He bit his lip as he shivered under the pain rushing throughout his nerves. It hurt, a lot. Before he could do anything to solve it, the pink animal took a fistful of his quills and kneed him harshly in the face, breaking his nose by the impact. He fell backwards on the ground with a thud, before seeing a sole smashing his face into utter darkness. He was unconscious. She looked at his body, knowing he would be alright once he woke up treated by the ambulance, and then looked at the remaining hedgehogs. They were one word, stunned. But the brown hedgehog quickly shook his head from the shock and ran at her with full speed. All she did was move out of his way and put out a foot, tripping him on the ground. She heard a groan from him, thinking he was about to get up. Making sure he permanently stayed on the ground, she stomped on both his ankles like a rampaging elephant – making him cry out in pain and not feeling his feet anymore.

"Only one left," She whispered forebodingly, turning her head slowly, only to see the unconscious fox on the floor and nothing else. She then heard mini quick breath beside her, trying to escape her beating. He didn't succeed. He soon felt a thick rope repeatedly wrap 'round him until his arms were unusable. He then felt his feet get tied by heavy rope, tripping up and falling down with a painful groan. The group was defeated… by a girl.

* * *

_5 minutes later…_

The yellow fox moaned in pain, trying to open her eyes and see her surroundings. She blinked weakly, only seeing a blur for a few moments, but after getting used to it, she saw the moon still high in the sky. She suddenly felt something soft under her head. She slowly reached up to feel it; a soft pillow. But how did it end up under her head? She knew what happened before she passed out, however she discovered she wasn't naked with cuts and scars, but still with her clothes. Had my prayer actually been answered? She thought faithfully.

"Oh you're awake!" She heard a cheery but flirty voice getting closer. She also heard the clapping of heels hitting the ground. She turned her head to locate the sound of the voice, seeing only but a caped face. But she could swear she saw beautiful emerald eyes under, and a sweet smile any male would die for. "I'm glad you're fine and awake. I heard you scream, so I came and helped yo-!"

"You're my angel, aren't you," The fox whispered, certainty was shown in her voice. The caped woman's mouth went wide, showing a surprised but touched face. Now the fox was sure she sure beautiful emerald eyes, gleaming with happiness.

"I don't think I'm an angel but…"

"No, you are," The fox insisted grabbing the 'angel's hands and clasping them in her grasp "And I thank you, so much! I prayed for someone to help me, and you were here! You must be an angel… a Pink Angel! No; you are _the _Pink Angel!"

The pink female was speechless. Never in her life has she felt so touched by those words. "Angel…" She echoed silently, feeling like a child learning a new word. She then winked at the yellow fox cheekily "Ok then! If you wanna call me the Pink Angel, you can!" She then turned herself, so her back was bending forwards and her arms were hanging backwards as a 'Climb on me!' gesture. "Let me take you home. You're not in shape to walk with a bruise on your face and your legs hurt from walking!" The fox hesitated but obliged, gently fixing herself comfortably on the angel's back. The Pink Angel immediately stood up and jumped high…_really _high. So high, that she reached about five floors of an apartment, before jumping to another wall. The fox screamed, scared from the sudden wind blowing in her face. She clung on tightly to her angel, almost tearing up again that something would happen. "Don't worry!" Her angel spoke confidently. Just hearing her voice made the fox calm down and actually enjoy the wind. "I won't let you fall!"

"Could I ask you some things?" The fox suddenly asked, making the pink female shocked by her sudden change of feelings.

"Ask away,"

"Where did those men go?"

"I called the police and they were turned in. I told them to ask you questions later. They agreed and said to take you home safely. They wanted to get my name, but I strongly told them no."

"How did you learn to kick their butts?"

"I've had a few training here and there…" She smirked cockily, jumping on the last wall to get on the roof. As she got on the roof, she took the time to listen to the fox's questions properly.

"What's your name?"

"Pink Angel," She said swaggeringly, letting her flirty voice overtake. What man could resist _her _voice?! It was _amazing_! And her figure stood out too, actually surprising the fox that she could take her weight. To take in notice, she did have a hedgehog figure and tail. The yellow female giggled at her little joke.

"No I meant you're real name," She saw her eyes flicker nervously, not sure in what to say. She finally had her conclusion.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that…" The sakura hedgehog whispered emotionlessly, not letting the fox see her face. This got the fox concerned.

"How come you can't?" She asked, but got no answer. She instead got a question.

"Where do you live?" Amy asked, not bothering to look at her face anymore. The yellow adult sighed sadly, but gave her the address. "Ok, now I want you to wrap your legs and arms tightly around me, ok?" The fox obliged, trying to stay as tight as possible. The Pink Angle then smirked deviously, running towards the edge and instantly dived down to the road. The fox screamed violently as she felt like she was going to be flattened to her death, with the rush of breeze forcing against her face. But then it went a little calmer, feeling nicer and more refreshing then it was a second ago. She took a sneak peak, only to be amazed when she saw her angel have a pair of wings on her suit. She was wearing a wing glider suit. 'She is my angel…' she thought happily, laughing as the wind was blowing in her face.

* * *

Soon they got to her house, safely flying down to the ground with no turbulence at all; a nice, smooth safe landing. Amy smiled as she let her new acquaintance off her back and feel the ground once more. The yellow friend then saw her house, seeing her red fox husband running up to her and giving her the warmest hugs she could ever have. She felt tears on her shoulder as he cried in happiness for her return. She couldn't help but cry too… she was safe from those men. She got her blessing! They both separated, both of them smiling cheerful smiles.

"Thank you, so much…" The yellow fox whispered jubilantly, letting out her widest smile for her angel. "By the way, my name is-!" But as she turned, she saw her angel wasn't there "Jessica…" Her ears drooped sadly. Nevertheless, her husband put a hand on her shoulder, making her look up to him.

"Don't worry sweetie…" He said sympathetically "I'm sure she has somewhere to be, saving lives and helping others. But I'm sure she'll visit sometime…" He gave her a soft kiss on her cheek, feeling her cheeks puff out from the wide grin she gave "Now come on, the kids are fast asleep but really want to see you. Especially Vivian, who is still up by the way," They both shared a chaste kiss, before leaving slowly to their welcoming home. "Thank you, Pink Angel…" Jessica whispered silently, closing her eyes and smiling at the past memory of her.

_I know it's the first time I've seen her, but why is she so… __**familiar**__?_

* * *

-At Angel Island-

A red echidna, called Knuckles, was sleeping on the Master Emerald, protecting it like he did for his whole life. He was a light sleeper, so he could hear if anyone approaches by. If it's between him and his Emerald, he would do anything to protect it. He wasn't thinking of anything special. Well… he does think that his closest friend had just… past away a few months ago. But everyone in Mobius is sad for that. Especially Sonic, oh _god_, he never stopped crying the first month. Sonic couldn't cope with Amy gone. Even Cream couldn't stop crying. She was _way _worse than Sonic. Crying herself to sleep every night was a painful thing to see, and you wouldn't want that nightmare playing in your head for the rest of your life.

Though, it had been three years now, she must be dead from starving and all.

Knuckles sighed miserably.

_Nothing was ever the same without Amy around. In memory of her, they held a memorial service for her, putting her photo in a frame and laying it near her mother and father (who passed away too). Many Roses were building up on top of the grave, making it look pretty. Nevertheless, it didn't help but only give us the sore memories of her crying and injured back when the Meterex stole her._

Knuckles sighed again. He _really _wasn't in the mood to mourn for her death again.

Suddenly, he heard the clicking of heels slowly getting louder and louder – with them getting closer to Knuckles too. He thought he knew who it was, and showed a small smirk across his muzzle, blushing a little pink when he heard the clicking stop.

"Rouge… I said I'll come into bed in a min- OH!" Knuckles opened his eyes widely. This wasn't his girlfriend?! It's some pink animal with a caped face! He quickly jumped up into his fighting position, ready to take this woman down. "Who are you and why are you here?!" He barked viciously, growling in anger for letting his guard down. When he heard no answer, he repeated "Tell me who you are, or I'll bash you for the answers!"

He still got no answer. This made Knuckles slightly hesitate. He wasn't scared – no! He was just… freaked out by this lady, who randomly comes up to him and says nothing. He also felt her eyes stare at him vindictively, like he was in the wrong… was he meant to remember her or something?

The minutes of silence passed by between the two, having no movement whatsoever as they stare at each other. Knuckles had enough of this. "Well, I warned you…" He ran towards her with a defensive cry, raising a fist to hit her square on the face. The only thing is his face hit the ground instead. Processing it, Knuckles thought he heard her snort behind him, smirking down at him with taunting eyes. _'Come at me bro'_

Is she trying to _mimic _me?! Knuckles thought angrily, quickly getting up and turning to face her. He threw punches and kicks towards her, but she kept dodging all of the moves. Soon after, it just looked like an embarrassing workout. As he tried to throw another kick at her, he suddenly felt his foot trapped into her strong grasp. She wasn't joking around anymore.

"Are you ready to stop yet?" She said in a low tone. Knuckles instantly forced her foot out of his grip, ready to give her a blow to the chest "Stop it, Knuckles." She warned him in a low growl, instantly seeing him with a shocked face.

"How do you know my name?"

"Because I know you," She answered a little too confidently. Her voice was serious but it naturally had that flirty voice too, like Rouge's. He grunted in anger, but wanted to cut to the chase.

"What are you doing here then?"

"I want you to send a message to Sonic for me," Now this was wired. Did she really have him ask to be a messenger? All of that fighting, to be a messenger?!

"I'm listening," He was in no mood to fight with her again.

"Tell him that a new hero has taken his place, that he's wasting his time to help others. I mean, he was the one that let Amy slip out of his grasp, and who knows how she died!"

"It wasn't his fault!"

"Then who was it then; hers, yours, mine, Eggman's?"

"Just shut up!"

"Well then tell him everything that I have said to you." She shrugged innocently, but still had that flirty smirk and taunting eyes lingering there. It ticked Knuckles off a whole lot.

"And what if I don't?" He challenged. He was going to do it, but he just wanted to know the consequence of this situation. This woman had trouble all over her.

"Well then," The pink hedgehog smirked deviously "That would be saved for another story, wouldn't it?" She was about to turn away, however, Knuckles asked one last question "Who do I say said it?"

The woman thought for a second. Who should she say it was from? Maybe… She smiled and turned back to Knuckles, letting him see her emerald eyes through the shadow "Say it was from the Pink Angel." And off she flew, letting her wind gliders take her to her next destination, Amy's grave.

* * *

**Duskyminer1234: Well this is the new story, Stronger. It is the sequel to Close Call and will hopefully change to an M for some lemons, but for now, I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you would follow on ^^.**


	2. Chapter 2: Meet the trio (Part 1)

**I'M BACK BABIES! AND I WILL TELL YOU WHY I WAS GONE BELOW!**

**Disclaimer:**** I own Sonic! ****-sigh-I don't own Sonic or any of the other characters in here TT_TT (technically except the Pink Angel NAME!)**

**WARNING: I believe the F word appears ONCE in the chappie, so you have been warned!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**-With the Sonic Team-**

Sonic wasn't bothered to get out of bed. He was still mourning for his closest friend to pass away. For the last three years, he hasn't been himself ever. He blames himself for Amy's disappearance; he blames himself for Amy's unknown death... he blames himself for anything that had to do with Amy's death. He still hoped for that little sign that Amy was still around, still out there and was okay. But that little hope was slowly fading away. Sonic checked everywhere for her, even Eggman, but she was nowhere to be found. He cried the first month, but now he's just miserable.

"Well, at least we made her grave look pretty," Sonic whispered to himself "Just like her... but flowers aren't going to get her back to me..." Sonic started to tear up again, seeing the same image he saw when she was trapped with the Meterex. "Oh Amy, where are you?" He choked up a sob, trying to calm himself down again. He already broke the 'hero never shows his tears' rule, and he wasn't going to stop saving others either.

He looked beside him on the wooden coffee table, but only to see Amy's birthday present last year. A small blue felt box. It looked simple, but yet something was inside that was going to change her and Sonic's life forever. It just so happened that _was, _was in the sentence.

"Why didn't I tell you Amy?" Sonic whispered to himself, then chuckled bitterly "Oh yeah, because I was taking her for greed."

_Greed_\- every time Sonic heard that word, it would make his stomach ache in emotional pain. He couldn't stand this. No Amy. It meant more to him than saying 'no more chilidogs or fast running' combined! And that was saying something!

"She was so kind, gentle... so _innocent_..." Sonic thought to himself, "And I wasn't there to even keep an eye on her. To look after her..."

"Well, Amy wouldn't like it if I sat here all day, moping around." The blue hedgehog sat up in his bed, stretching out his body as he yawned silently, wiping the tears that came to his eyes after. He then heard his communicator go off. Looking to the noise, he saw that it was Tails trying to call him. He tapped the device and a holographic Tails came out of the communicator, expanding to Sonic's eye level.

"Hey, buddy, whats'up?"

"Sonic, Knuckles needs to talk to you for a second. So you need to come over."

"Oh no, is it one of those 'death threats' because I made fun of him and Rouge fucking?" Sonic rolled his eyes amusingly.

"Sonic, this is serious!"

"Fiiinnneee!" Sonic moaned in misery, getting out of his bed and stretching a little but still looking at Tails. "What's the problem anyway?"

"It's just…. important…" Tails mumbled. Sonic got suspicious after this. Never has he heard Tails get so… moody. Then he thought of something, well, someone anyway.

"Is it about Amy…?" Sonic asked sternly. Maybe Tails found something like a clue or a hint to her disappearance! But, then, wouldn't he be happy rather than serious?

"Sorta…" Tails mumbled again, this time looking somewhere into space.

"You know Tails, if this has anything to do with Amy's disappearance, I need to know. You can't hide anything from me, especially if it's Amy."

"I know, I know. Just get over here and listen to Knuckles. He keeps pondering deeply about something."

"I'm on my way." Sonic said, turning off the screen. And within a second, he was gone.

* * *

-Tails's workshop-

Tails sighed sadly as he turned his communicator off. He knows that Sonic is never going back to his cocky, carefree self. After these three years of searching, he always went to Amy's house and start crying on her bed. One time, he wasn't even there to save Mobius from Eggman (luckily, the rest of the team were here in the nick of time). It scared Tails how much Sonic changed… quite a lot actually.

_We all have been taken from someone we care for, very much. But Cream, it's like she lost a close sister to her. And for Sonic…._

_He lost his love…_

Even though Sonic tries to act the same old carefree hero to show the Sonic Team he was okay, they all know he's putting an act on. He's now bottled up inside this jail of feelings, where the good feeling are slowly slipping away from his life. It's not long before Sonic is enclosed with so many horrible emotions around him, that he wouldn't be able to co-

"Is he coming or not?" the red echidna asked abruptly, literally jumping Tails out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah. He's coming." Tails said distraughtly.

"What's the matter now?"

"It's Just..." Tails looked at Knuckles with scared but thoughtful eyes "Don't you think Sonic has changed sadly after Amy's passing?"

"Hasn't everyone changed after Amy's passing?"

"Yeah but Sonic hasn't gotten better after three years, and even Cream is now managing to get better. Sonic, however, is still under a rock."

"Tails, can we please not talk about Amy's death? I still can shake the feeling of remorse on me, neither do I think Sonic can too..."

Knuckles is right, Tails thought. Maybe Sonic is still just in that time of mourning and remorse. He will get better overtime. I'm sure of it.

A smash was heard at the door, followed by the sound of a shattered pot and some other clashing sounds too. Tails sighed again, knowing that Sonic must have broken the plant pot in the front room and tripped onto some wall. Knuckles gave out a short chuckle hearing Sonic whisper loud curses whilst walking into the room they were in. But all Tails did was give Sonic a concerned look like some paranormal activity was happening.

"For goodness sake Sonic, why can't you walk to the house instead of speeding to your death?"

"I've told you that I despise walking. God, you sound like my mother!"

"He seems fine to me..." Knuckles whispered to Tails, though Tails didn't pay attention to him.

"So, Knuckles, what did you want to tell me?"

"Sonic, there is this woman that wants to take your place of being a hero." Knuckles explained bluntly.

Sonic gave Knuckles a disbelieved face. "Is that all you have to tell me?" He asked slowly, his face changing from disbelief to anger.

"Sonic, I know that sounds useless. But that was what she told me. You see…"

* * *

"_Tell him that a new hero has taken his place, that he's wasting his time to help others. I mean, he was the one that let Amy slip out of his grasp, and who knows how she died!"_

"_It wasn't his fault!"_

"_Then who was it then; hers, yours, mine, Eggman's?"_

"_Just shut up!"_

"_Well then tell him everything that I have said to you."_

"_And what if I don't?"_

"_Well then, that would be saved for another story, wouldn't it?"_

"_Who do I say said it?"_

"_Say it was from __**the Pink Angel."**_

* * *

"So you see, I had to tell you that you are at a rivalry with the Pink Angel."

"Woah, woah, wait-" Sonic interrupted, bursting Knuckles out of his flashback. "Are you tell me that you basically met this woman and she threatened to do something drastic (basically getting beaten by a girl...) if you didn't tell me what happened?" Knuckles nodded. "And her name was the…" Sonic tried to keep his arising laugh hidden "Pink Angel!" But failed…

Sonic started to chuckle, but then it turned into roaring laughter. Meanwhile, Tails and Knuckles mentally face palmed as they watch Sonic's clown act going crazier. "Sonic, don't you get it?!" Tails exclaimed, trying to reason with Sonic "The Pink Angel sounds like someone _**not **_to mess with, and we might be in serious trouble if she _**does **_take your place!" This only made Sonic laugh harder.

"Guys, guys-" Sonic huffed as she gasped for breath "Look, trust me will ya. No one will take Sonic The Hedgehog's place, especially a girl you met just under twelve hours!" The trio coincidently heard cries for help and screams near Station Square. "So now if you'll excuse me… I have some saving to do."

_Woosh… _Sonic went out the door in milliseconds. But he left behind two doubtful faces, both thinking the same thing.

_Karma will bite Sonic in the ass…_

"Okay, so maybe Sonic is a bit crazier…"

* * *

"Hmmm…" The pink hedgehog mumbled as she searched for a specific name. She was walking through a silent graveyard, with only a peek of the sunlight appearing from the light peach horizon. "Well… it has to be something distinctive… like roses!" When she realised the object she had to find, she went running through the site, jumping from side to side of gravestones and skimming the names for at least a capital A. "Or maybe it would be near the rose family…" Suddenly she found a certain gravestone with the name 'Amy Rose' on it. There were various of colours surrounding the grave but all were thorn less roses. "Blue, red, yellow," The hedgehog giggled, "There are all the colours of the rainbow!" She then read what was on the gravestone:

**R.I.P**

**Amy Rose**

**A wonderful daughter**

**A trustworthy sibling**

**A great friend**

**And a fighting hero.**

**She will be dearly missed….**

"Why is hero even on this gave," She muttered darkly, the cute curiosity vanishing "She wasn't even at most of the fights, and some were when she was captured all of the time, especially the last time everyone saw her face… the Meterex…" She shook her head swiftly, trying to shoo away the flashback. That was when she saw one particular rose that stood out before the others. It was planted delicately on the grave dirt and still blooms it's shiny glitter of natural water.

It was the lavender rose. The promise.

"_Sonic, promise me that you will never leave me again!"_

"_Don't worry Amy, I never will!"_

"It's not that you left me…" She whispered sadly, "I left you… for the good of me…." She looked at the photo of Amy Rose only being twelve, smiling and doing a peace sign to the invisible camera, "Well…" She growled under her breath "I won't let that stop me, this rose can bloom as much as it likes, but it wouldn't stop me from getting stronger. Not in a million chance. And they **cannot **spot me either…" She stood up, walking away from the tombstone in a determined fashion "Because, I am the new Amy Rose, and not even _Sonic _can stop me!" She wrapped a mask around her mouth, only showing her emerald eyes, and took off running in a flash.

**Oh my god this is so freakin short o.o…**

**Also um… I am sorry if Sonic is a bit OOC in this… and the writers block too but this was a cliffhanger I wanted D:**

**So uh… How are you guys after months I haven't seen you in…. This chappie right here is only part 1 of Chapter 2 By the way.. and I have almost finished that too.**

**If you were wondering what happened to me, 1) Writers block and 2) Two of my close relatives have passed away… so I have tried to get over this for SO long! I just about managed, but it is still lingering with me. As my mum said, it's normal for people to go through depression for years. :(**

**Anywho, not about me is it? Let's reply to some of your reviews!**

**1) The words will be at least longer than 2,000 to keep you guys busy reading, but maybe not as much as 4,000 or even 10,000. xD Geez, that's a lot. And I won't spoil the lemon thing either, but it will please both the people who want one and don't really prefer one. ^_^**

**Sonic155: Thank you so much ^_^ Means a lot to me, I hope this chappie (part 1) pleases you! And it can hopefully get better!**

**Guest: I'm trying dun rush me! D: Jk, I'm sorry for the long wait!**

**GummyGal: Umg, you guessed right! Here have a cookie *gives cookie* ^_^ Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the ages xD Well they're at the top for you now!**

**Shadowscast214: Well… you must read and see huh? ;3**

**sonic girl 18: I REALLY REALLY HAPPY THAT YOU LOVE IT UMGUMGUMG! xD I'm sorry it WAS as question but I was trying to please everyone. But dun worry, hopefully this will make it up to ya. ;3**

**Unknown: :3 Thank ya!**

**Reader: Well thank you! I'm really happy that you like it. I hope this one didn't let you down :P**

**XoxoSonamy4440oxoX: Thank you for your review. I helped me a lot with my decision! I just hope this one made you like the story again… I haven't been all that active lately (MONTHS DAMN!) but I hope this one can go for your standards!**

**keri: Here's your update! Hope I keep you interested!**

**Unknown: I will hope I do, so dun worry :P**

**Magic Katy: Awh, thank ya so much!**

**I cannot say how much I am squealing with happiness, this just brightened up my day when...that thing happened TT_TT…. BUT I HOPE THIS ONE AND PART 2 CAN AMUSE AND KEEP YOU INTERESTED! And I am most likely going to post part 2 either this week or in two weeks time (that I promise will be at least more than 2000, this was just under 2000!). And I really wanna tell you what the next chappie is about… TT_TT Hint, hint, a lot of flirting, oh god… xD**

**Any who, see ya later peeps! ^_^**


	3. THE AGES, NOT A CHAPPIE!

**OH MY GOD I DID IT AGAIN! FORGOT THE BLOODY AGES! Right, here you go!**

Sonic - 21

Amy/Pink Angel - 19

Tails - 16

Cream - 16

Knuckles - 25

Rouge - 25

Shadow - ? (But is 25 in this :P)

Vanilla - 40


	4. Chapter 2: Sonic's Confusion (Part 2)

**Ohai, seeming as you might be mad at me for making a PART 1, I will join this one as soon as I finish it, okay?! Just dun be mad D: -hides-**

**WARNING: THERE IS STRONG LANGUAGE IN THIS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or any other Sega characters, k?**

* * *

Sonic was speeding through the streets of Station Square, trying to find the culprit of the destruction. But his thoughts were elsewhere.

'It was my fault for Amy's death huh?' He got saddened by the harsh words the Pink Angel said. 'Even though I don't know who this "Angel" is, she was sure right about one thing: I caused Amy's death. I never saved her, or stayed by her side… like my promise...'

Suddenly he heard a horrified shriek close by, followed by a loud crash noise that shook the ground slightly. "So he must be close…" Sonic whispered to himself, but then seeing the massive red egg-shaped robot but with Eggman in his portable invention at the top, sitting comfortably whilst pressing random buttons setting off weapons. Sonic rolled his eyes playfully "Why didn't I even see that robot?" And sped off in a flash.

Seconds later, he appeared right in front of the menacing robot, with Eggman looking occupied with the buttons he was pressing, so Sonic shouted "Yoo-hoo! Oh Eggy darling I'm here!" In a lady voice. Eggman jumped from his actions and looked at Sonic, from a curious frown to a dark smirk, showing his sharp teeth.

"Oh Sonic, long time no see, huh?" Eggman chuckled slowly, "Well glad you can make it to the party…"

"Oh Eggman, why don't you ever learn?" Sonic asked him mockingly "I am always going to crack your eggy-butt with my own hands. So you betta give up now if ya know what's good for ya!"

Eggman's smile, then turned back to an angry frown, his eyebrows narrowing as much as they could "Well then, hedgehog," He spat darkly, pressing a few buttons then the red one "How would you like a few fire drills of how to avoid these babies!"

"Well Eggman," Sonic said, in a fighting stance "You should learn two things. One: You should have hurt me when you have had the chance, And-."

"And two:" Both Eggman, Sonic and the whole Station Square had heard a female voice come out of no where, but then saw on Eggman's robot, that a pink hedgehog with a black cape and black boots couching down to Eggman's height, looking at him with her shining emerald hues. Her voice was serious but it had a hint of flirt kicking in also. "You should stop talking and do what you do best." Even though Eggman didn't see her mouth, he could feel that a smirk was taunting him. "Run."

As soon as the hedgehog finished her sentence, she spun on her right foot and let the other have so much speed and power, that it shattered through the dome Eggman was in and break the whole dome in one go. Eggman quickly covered his face with his slender arms, protecting himself from the shattered pieces of glass that had a possibility of hurting him. However when he looked out to see if the woman was still there, she had disappeared. He was up in a hurry, looking around swiftly in sight for her (still confused of the scenario he was in) but found nothing. Finally, he looked up, only to see the pink female diving down at horrendous speed with one leg extended slightly behind him, tearing through the back of the egg-bot effortlessly - creating a massive _Boom!_

"Who is that girl…" Eggman panicked, trying to make his portable flying-machine actually _fly _away from the madness nevertheless trying to escape anyway. Though as soon as he did get to try and fly away, the Pink Angel was already behind him, smirking at his pathetic escape.

"I'm the Pink Angel," She whispered just enough for Eggman to hear her, she rose a foot that was about to strike him "Never mess with me…" She whispered threateningly, before giving Eggman's machine a massive blow below, making Eggman, with a scream of vengeance, zoom right into the sky, only to see the flash of an explosion miles away from Station Square. The whole crowd was silent, then after a few seconds one started clapping. Gradually everyone started clapping, then suddenly bursted out with cries of joy. They were praising her saying "The Pink Angel!" "You saved us!" "Hooray for the Pink Angel!"

Sonic was still down there, still in his fighting position and still frozen in place. He only blinked a couple of times in utter shock and confusion, before he finally spoke "What was that?"

"That was the Pink Angel," A familiar male voice answered behind him, jumping Sonic upright and spin around to see him, only to be greeted by Knuckles and Tails - both giving Sonic a smirk. Their faces read 'Told you so,' all over. Knuckles then added "So she isn't a person to mess with, huh? Seems like you have some competition…"

"Oh _please_," Sonic boasted, waving his hand at them in a 'shoo' action "Yeah, she was saving Station Square in a pretty hot style, doesn't make her my rival does it? Like I said, I am not letting this hedgehog cutie win…" Then Sonic growled "Not on my watch lady…"

"Sonic, can you take this woman seriously!" Tails huffed, "She had just defeated a giant robot in minutes and-"

"And I would have taken seconds." Sonic finished, emphasising the full stop at the end. "Now that's the end of the conversation. So now for your information, I will be off for a run and coming back tomorrow morning. Don't follow me neither wait up here for me, other you'll miss either fucking with Rouge or snogging Cream. Ta-ta!" And Sonic sped off again.

"You know what Knuckles?" Tails said, turning to Knuckles with a frustrated look "I'll let Sonic figure out how bad this is for himself, _and then _see him crawling back to me with tears in his eyes! He had changed so much, that I don't think I can get through to him!"

"No one can, Tails" Knuckles confirmed, putting a hand on Tail's shoulder.

"I guess he is just in depression still, and I guess his way of showing it is to show how proud and righteous he is of himself because of thinking that Amy's loss was his fault…" Tails sighed "But that doesn't mean that he has to change so much to keep his feeling bottled up inside!"

"Look," Knuckles replied "Don't think about it too much, kid. It's not a thing to discuss at the moment."

"So we're going to make it a taboo subject?!"

"What's a taboo?" Knuckles asked bluntly, giving Tails a dumbfounded expression.

Tails groaned at Knuckle's intelligence (which is not so much…)"Where you make it something you don't talk about ever, or even avoid talking about it. We have to confront him about Amy's death one day! I know it's horrible but it's taking some sort of silly turn on Sonic-!"

"Miles?" A squeaky female voice came from behind them. They turned around to see a familiar rabbit with chocolate brown eyes, wearing an orange sun hat at an orange neck-strapped summer dress and orange sandals. Her figure turned out nicely, especially being in her teenage years.

"Oh hey Cream." He said cheerfully to his girlfriend, walking to her side and holding her hand "Why are you here, not meaning to be rude or anything…"

Cream giggled, like it was an obvious answer "To see you, silly." Then she gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him blush a little "I wanted to know if you would go on a beach walk with me. It is a really nice day and Amy's not here so…" Tails saw that a hint of distraught touched Cream's voice, with an almost silent sad whimper after. "So I was wondering if you would come with me, not that I am forcing you or anything Myles…"

"Oh no it's fine, Cream!" He reassured her, holding her hand tighter "We can go to the beach as the sun is setting, it would be nice for the both of us!"

"Oh thank you Miles!" Cream's eyes sparkled with joy, looking at the yellow fox with a bright smile.

"Well, see ya later Knuckles!" Tails said, leaving hand in hand with his jubilant rabbit.

"Well, I guess I should look after the-..." Knuckles then paused, and pondered for a moment. "THE MASTER EMERALD!"

* * *

-=-_**Stronger**_-=-

* * *

It was night time in Station Square, with Sonic finally finishing his run and strolling back home. But he was still thinking about what happened when the Pink Angel came and totally thrashed Eggman. Well… of course he wasn't going to admit it out loud but she _was _pretty impressive in truth. But that still wasn't going to make her, his rival.

"Hah," He snorted to himself putting his hands behind his head in a sunbathing action "Like she'll ever beat me on being the hero. I mean look at me, I all that Station Square needs to be safe!" Suddenly, he felt a sudden quick force from behind him that ended up pushing him roughly to a nearby brick wall with his hands behind his back like he had handcuffs on. The force from the impact, took the wind out of Sonic's lungs.

"Well that makes two of us…" He heard a low female voice whisper in his ear, adding more pressure. Even if Sonic (who was in the midst of pain) couldn't see her face, he could definitely know that she had a flirty smirk - taunting the back of his head.

"Woah, hold up for a second!" Sonic puffed defensively, "I am only walking home, infact strolling. And yet some random woman comes up and pushed me against the wall, mind introducing yourself before you get what you deserve?"

"Well I'm sure you have heard the rumors, handsome." She whispered huskily, "I'm the one they call the Pink Angel, Hmm?"

"Oh," His voice went lower, instantly knowing the image of the female hedgehog behind him. "So you're that woman who tries to have a sexy style of defeating a robot?" He whispered, and just as she lightened up the pressure, he spun round - causing him to back her spine against the same brick wall, one of his hands to go behind her and hold her wrists whilst the other was leaning against her head on the brick wall, holding himself up. He couldn't see anything except a pink hedgehog with sparkling emerald hues. But somehow gazing into her eyes made is heart's pulse beat faster.

"Well I can say that it did get me by surprise…" He replied, ignoring the strange feeling. The same feeling he had with Amy… "But sorry I'm not interested, Pinky."

"You think I care?" She snapped darkly, never the less not resisting to his hold "I'm sorry that I have a style of saving, and if you can't handle it, then it sucks to be you…"

"Wow, you're not friendly," Sonic muttered sarcastically. "I didn't say that I hated your style of saving. Infact, _all I said _was that I wasn't _interested_."

"Heh, like I said, you think I care?"

"From your point of view, not in the slightest."

"Well," Her rude voice turned into a flirty whisper once more "I'm sure you don't know what I can do with a guy like you, perhaps you want to find out?"

_What the Chaos… Is this woman trying to mess with me? _Sonic thought as his grip got lighter. The Pink Angel took the chance to escape and spin them both over, letting her have dominance once again. She quickly put his arms above him and held him by the wrist, before pushing her whole body weight on him again.

"Well for one I can kick your ass, pervert." She laughed playfully, "I never thought it would be easy to take someone down like you, but now I almost found it a waste of my time."

Sonic, for once, felt a heated challenge rising, making him smirk cunningly. "So you wanna fight dirty, huh Pinky? Well I'll show you a _fight_." As soon as he finished his sentence, he flipped his body right round _again_, but this time having one hand on her hip and the other holding her wrists above again. He pushed his head into the crook of her neck, making sure that she could hear him saying:

"_**Bring. It. On."**_

The female's heart almost skipped a beat from the sudden change, slightly shocked at how he had actually _agreed _to fight with her. It almost made her give him respect… almost.

"Oh I will." She stated, before lifting her leg and kicking him in the chest, making him fall down with an 'oof!'. She then sat on his waist, trapping his arms either side of him.

"Well for an angel, you aren't that innocent are you?" Sonic asked sarcastically.

"Well I'd like to get plain dirty and sexy sometimes…" She smirked back.

"I would like to ask you why you're here so late at night," He changed the rolls for both of them, rolling on the ground with him having the dominance "Shouldn't you sleep instead of fight? It's not good if you don't get your 'beauty sleep', hm?"

"I would like to ask you the same thing," She sneered "You're in my night territory of saving Station Square, and I wouldn't like it if you stole my job of this too." She wrestled underneath him, managing to slip out in between his legs. She then rolled on her back and pushed up as far as she could, landing a hit on Sonic's face.

"Damn, girl." He cursed painfully, rubbing his temple from the soreness. "You sure have the power, don't ya,"

Suddenly, Sonic's right ear twitched, sensitive from some sort of quiet noise in the distance. He saw that the Pink Angel's ears twitched too, yet she wasted no time to sprint towards the source. But she moved in a blink of an eye. 'Woah, she's fast' Sonic thought, whilst blinking rapidly to where she went, but then smirked amusingly 'impressive...'Then sprinted off straight behind her.

* * *

Sonic took only minutes to arrive at the scene (on top of an apartment building), but already seeing the Pink Angel stare down at another female wolf getting chased in an alleyway by a bulldog with a policeman uniform. with a dark aura around her. Sonic could feel the anger rising in her body, yet curious as to how she acts so calm about this. He was about to jump to the case until Amy put her hand in front of his chest to repel him with a 'Not yet' sign.

"Oi, I don't know if you're good or not, but I want to help that policemen do his job; stop bad people. Whether they're ladies or no-!"

"Well if you are meant to be a good hero, then you should look for yourself to see that the policeman is a _fake_!" The female replied harshly, making Sonic have a closer look. He then saw that the policeman was wearing a fake uniform, seeing the man also being rough on the innocent. "Now be a good boy and wait out here whilst I deal with this…" She said before jumping from wall to wall down towards her location. Though Sonic didn't pay attention to her words, also copying her movements down to the place.

Once the Pink Angel got there, the beast had already struck the crying wolf with a baton, having the creepiest grin slithering across his face slowly, mad eyes bulging and analysing the wolf. "Oh what a pretty wolfie you are… all grey fur and so cute, so innocent. But unfortunately you wouldn't feel so innocent anymore…" Before he could finish his sentence, the hedgehog kicked him sharply in the back, making him tumble forward in shock and pain. She didn't give him a rest, however - she picked him up from his back collar and shoved him against an apartment building, making sure he couldn't get out of her grip.

"You wanna get an innocent girl in hospital, huh?" The pink hedgehog warned in a serious manner "Well, don't I have a good punishment for bad guys like you… I hope you enjoy your _**present**_…" Before hitting him square behind the head and throwing him on the ground. He let out a cry of agony, trying to get on his feet and sprint away. His efforts were useless. The Pink Angel took him up again and threw him across the bins, his head banging onto the bin lid and falling inside - before the bin lid abruptly closed behind him.

She dusted her hands clean before turning around to check the female, but already seeing her being tended to the familiar blue hedgehog. The Pink Angel was silent, watching intently on how he was asking where anything hurt, or if she was feeling dizzy anyway:

"Do you feel like fainting?" Sonic asked calmly, studying her reactions.

"Kinda…" She shrieked, holding her head in pain though Sonic could see the bump in her hand "It feels pretty big, will I get amnesia?"

"I don't think that will happen, but I'm not a doctor…" He replied, gently prodding the bump. "Comeon, we should take you to a-!"

"I will," 'Pinky' interrupted, already picking the wolf from the ground and on her back. "You should go home and rest… you must be tired…"

"But I-"

"Go home!" She finalized, sprinting towards the nearest hospital. Sonic only saw her woosh away, slightly shocked at her monotone order.

_Why did she act so different… _He thought to himself, before shrugging his shoulders and sprinting off the other direction.

**THIS FEELS SO BADDD! I DON'T LIKE THESE CHAPPIES ANYMORE! D:**

**Welp it was about time I did this. Now wait for like 2 months for the other one as I am going to work on Let your Life Shine for so much longer! WOO, TOMORROW I'LL BE FREE FROM SCHOOL! :D**

**Anywho, thank you to all those who have been reading so far, really appreciate it! Maybe I can get around **_**25-30 **_**reviews in totals this time, though I currently (as I last checked) have 19.**

**Oh and any mistakes you see in this chapter, please let me know and I'll fix them in a jiffy, thank you!**

**But anyway, hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you next time… SEEYA PEEPS! :D**


	5. Chapter 3: Sonic's Vision and PA vs R

**Am I asking for too much reviews? I don't think I am, but if you think I am… I'm sowrry :[**

**Well… at least the last time I checked I got 25 reviews yay! Thank you my dear readers. c:**

**Shall I give you guys a nickname…. lol no. I'll think about it xD But Anyway, thank you for your dear patients, especially to those reviewers ;3**

**(If the spaces are big. Just... try to ignore it. Heh.. ^_^')**

**ON WITH THE STORY!**

Sonic couldn't help but feel bothered about what happened a few nights ago, in the alley way. The Pink Angel had some awful mood swings, too much for him to handle. One minute she was all flirty and playful, the next she was ordering him to "go home" (Or just go away in the nicest way possible) with an angry look on her face.

"Why was she angry at me…?" Sonic whispered to himself "Even more so, why am I so curious about a woman I just met…" He first thought the reason was because he may be intrigued by her. And when he meant intrigued, he meant taking a liking to a girl in just under two hours. Then the other reason was that he was just being delusional about her having the spark emerald eyes Amy had and pink fur… almost thinking that it _was _Amy.

But then there was the fact he was just going a bit la-la.

He preferred the latter idea.

"Maybe I should get some rest," he mumbled audibly. He couldn't think straight from that certainly _eventful _night.

"You should sleep for a while, you know." He heard an all too familiar amorous voice from the door. He closed his eyes and smirked in amusement.

"Please, wear a nurse outfit before you 'tend to my wounds'..." Sonic replied as he did figurative speech marks on the joke phrase.

"Oh yeah, I will get right on that…" The female bat said sarcastically, rolling her eyes from his little joke. "But now you know what a little crazy fur-ball you have become these three years. You should sleep."

"Alright, I will…" He sighed "Geez, why do females always think they have the best ideas for men?"

"Because they're always right. Whether you like it or not." She walked into his room, eyes wandering around for anything interesting. Her turquoise hues landed on the blue velvet case on his bedside table. "When did you plan to give that to her?"

His face suddenly grimaced at the past memory. "On her eighteenth birthday."

"So you've had it for… how long?" She raised a brow **(or an eye…? You know for that their eyes are kinda like their eyebrows too… erm…) **estimating a value in years for the box.

"About two years, before she went missing I planned to have a year of preparing the day… I don't know why. I think I just wanted to make up for the times that I rejected her and stuff…" Ouch… another cringe arrived on Sonic's face.

"Maybe you should put the box on the grave also," She suggested, patting Sonic's shoulder lightly "Oh, after you sleep of course." She quickly added.

Sonic let out a silent snigger at her remark "Ok then, after I sleep _Dr. Rouge The Bat. _Cause you know everything on how to make a man happy…"

"Trust me, I do," She planted a naughty smirk on her face, walking slowly out the door. Before she left the room completely, her face turned back to look at him once more "But seriously Sonic, get some rest, everyone has been worrying about you since… you know. So at least reassure them that you _are at least _sleeping regularly."

"Yes Ma'am," He saluted with a fake serious face, before seeing her completely leave his vision with a small smile.

He groaned inwardly at his friend's worries. So far, it has only been Rouge who has joked with him even though she was worried. The rest, exception of Shadow (who practically has no emotion at all. And Knuckles? He worries in his own way…) has been fretting over his health, his lifestyle, his heroic duties, his feelings… has he mentioned his health?

Okay, maybe he _could _agree with them on some levels, but not the level of them thinking that he should go to some asylum for some help. He wasn't that crazy. At least he thought he wasn't.

Was he? Nah… he wasn't, and to prove it, he actually was going to follow his and Rouge's advice. He was going to sleep…

…

If he could find a way to sleep.

"Hey Tails?" He called out, hoping that he was there and close enough to hear him "Can you hit me with something to get knocked out to sleep?"

_**-=-Stronger-=-**_

The Pink Angel -cough- Amy -cough- was once again back at the graveyard, which she really didn't think she was going back to since she already said that she was going to change. But now because of a few nights ago that Sonic showed affection to the suffering wolf on the ground, she had this aching hatred rotting in her gut. It wasn't jealousy… she was sure of it. However, the last few nights, she has been having the same memory of the damn lavender rose in her dreams. But then it went to another scene, where Sonic just turned his back to her - sadness visible - and said a phrase which really stabbed Amy in her heart. _It really did_.

"_Is this what guilt really felt like?" _She pondered silently looking at the grave with fury. "Look what you did!" Amy whispered in irritation. "I know what I said when I said I was going to forget about this grave and you… but now you have caused me to have that same damn memory over and over. When will you quit it?!"

Even though the grave was silent, she could still feel her conscience talking to her. The twelve year old was talking to her.

_You know you don't have to do this… you can just reveal yourself_

This time, the Amy in her mind was more mature. '_**Great, now I have brought a conscience to life...' **_Amy thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean _I don't have to do this_?! You know as much as I do that I do!"

_Hiding yourself from Sonic will only cause more guilt and fear for yourself…_

Amy laughed bitterly at her conscience. "How little you know about the new me… huh…"

_How little you know about the new you too. What do you think you're achieving out of this?_

"That I am stronger. That I know no one can defeat me, as much as they tried."

_But he can still defeat you… can't he? Let's face it, even if you are cold on the outside, you still care for him on the inside. I still care for him on the inside. So why bring more pain to yourself when you can simply admit to your fate?_

"Why do you talk about him like he's someone special to me?" She laughed dryly once more. "Let me make this clear… he will _not _be special. No way, not when I have just started. And that reminds me…

Didn't he _hurt _you? To the point of crying to sleep?"

For once, Amy didn't hear a reply from the ghostly voice, which made her smirk in victory. She clarified "Just so you know, I am not like you. And I will not love him. Ever. Understand?"

_Forgive him._

Amy groaned in frustration "Ugh, fine. I'm done talking. Why did I even talk to you?".

She had enough, putting on her black bandana over her mouth and her hood up, she sprinted away the grave. She just wanted to be alone, away from her past. Her memories. She already got past crying, she had no tears left. And she was glad.

But she did realise something. Sonic's jade coloured eyes had still the same spark.

The spark she fell in love with.

'**No!' **She shook her head angrily at the image of Sonic's eyes. "I don't need to think about him… I need to get my plan into action. I need those Chaos Emeralds…."

Meanwhile, back at the graveyard, a shadow of another male hedgehog was lurking near Amy's grave, watching the whole scene. He opened his eyes in an deadpan gaze. Then he sneered unethically - looking at the direction the Pink Angel ran.

"Hmm…" He hummed slyly, "So she knows Amy huh…? I wonder how well… this is going to be fun..."

**I know people are going to hate that part...**

_**-=- Stronger -=-**_

Tails was in his workshop, getting out some blueprints for a new mystery machine he was working on. Whilst Cream, (wearing a white sundress with short puffy sleeves and some red flats) was patiently looking at his every move. However, Cream saw something that made Tails look unfocused. She smiled knowingly.

"Are you thinking about the Pink Angel?" She asked sweetly, giggling slightly when his eyes widened "Sorry, did I jump you?"

"No… no," Tails shook his head quickly, then gave her a small smile "It's just that, you know me so well…"

Cream lightly blushed at his fact, then asked "Why are you thinking about her?"

"Because I think she's planning something…" He muttered "We haven't seen her in ages, neither have we seen Eggman. What if… what if they were working together?"

"That could be a possibility," Cream frowned "However, if that was to be true, then why did the Pink Angel attack him the first time?"

"We can't really come to a conclusion on that just yet," Tails replied, stroking his chin with an attentive stare into space "But if she was working with Eggman, then maybe she is first making Sonic the rear end - slowly letting him give up, then they both would attack."

"Or maybe you're thinking too hard about this…" A blatant voice said behind Cream. They both looked, to see Rouge and Knuckles both came in without them noticing. "The door was unlocked," Knuckles explained, before propping himself on a nearby table.

"I thought you were looking after Sonic," Tails said worriedly.

"Relax hun, he's already asleep as we speak." Rouge reassured him "Knuckles thought it was a _great _idea to knock him out with his fist…"

"But he said he needed something to knock him to sleep!" Knuckles retorted, raising his hands up defensively.

"Doesn't mean you had to beat him to sleep!" Rouge argued.

"He wanted you in a sexy _nurse_ costume! _What did you think I was going to do?!"_

"He was freaking joking, Knuckles!"

"That joke shouldn't be accepted if he knew you were _taken_!"

"Both of you shut up a sec!" Tails shouted, getting all of their attention again. "Look, I know you may think I'm overthinking this. Even I do. But at least _I _am the only one coming up with conclusions as to _why _a random hedgehog comes to town, literally kicking Eggman's as-!" He heard Cream let out a cough, then a scowl at his direction. He sighed "I mean kicking Eggman's _bottom_, but anyway, she then doesn't appear for a few days and neither does Eggman. What can you make up with _that _evidence? Apart from, yes, they are working together in some way."

They were all silent for a few moment, proving Tails point. Tails smiled in victory "Then it's settled, tomorrow - we go and interrogate Eggman before anything happens. Oh, and not to invite Sonic. He needs to relax."

"More like know that Rouge is off limits…" Knuckles mumbled, earning a deadly scowl from her "Oh my Gaia, give me a _break_!"

"I didn't do anything, _Knuxie_…" Rouge sneered.

"You know I hate that nickname, _Batty!_" Knuckles retorted with a huff. They both began their normal couples argument, with Tails and Cream just sighing defeatedly. After a few seconds, they started to talk to each other.

"Do you want to come with us, Cream?" Tails asked, referring back to the plan.

Cream only smiled and shook her head, declining his offer. Then she said "I think you will do fine without me, Miles. Just make sure you don't get hurt."

"Don't worry," he winked "I'll make sure to have a certain someone come with us, and then see how things go from there…"

"By the way, Tails," Rouge began. After winning her quarrel with Knuckles (with him having a huge bump on his head) she was looking at the blueprints Tails was examining. "What are those?"

Tails beamed at her mention of the blueprints, "Oh this? It's a new machine I am working on. I haven't named it yet, but it's function is to basically drain some of the Chaos Emeralds' energy without needing to move it, and it flies into the receiver of this baby," Tails then lifted up a, slightly heavy, metal object - with a projectile at the front and a slot where you place your arm through at the back. Then there was a regular opening at the front to fire. The colour of it was white with orange highlights around it. "It sorta looks like one of those portal guns, except this time, it has a receiver for the energy, and you can shoot it like a grenade or a shotgun."

"Speaking of Chaos Emeralds…" Rouge said "There is one at the museum again, because obviously they don't know that we need it, so I was going to go treasure hunting for you. And it's the green one."

"Okay," Tails nodded "Just as long as you don't take anything else with that."

"And not get caught," Cream added.

"And not flirt with any of the guards, like last time," Knuckles scowled - recovering from the bump. "That almost got you in prison, don't you know?"

"I will not take anything else there, I will not get caught, and I will _not_ flirt with anyone _anymore now _that you _know _I am _taken, _for Gaia's sake!" She promised and glared (at Knuckles). "Now I will be getting ready tonight. Besides, it may probably take 30 seconds." She smirked, before exiting the house and flying off to her destination.

_-=- __**Stronger **__-=-_

_Sonic woke up from his relaxing slumber, he felt refreshed; anew. He sighed happily, stretching out his arms and legs to loosen up his tense muscles. Once fully awake, his nose caught a delicious scent from below. He got up from his bed and jogged down the stairs. He saw Tails. Tails was cooking something - helping the mystery of the tempting smell._

_Tails saw Sonic from the corner of his eye, looking so much healthier. The yellow fox beamed. His brother was back, and finally back to normal. "Hey Sonic!" He greeted, alerted as the beeping from the oven started._

"_Hey bro!" Sonic replied, licking his lips "What's that you cookin'?"_

"_Your favourite!" Tails chuckled "You should know by now."_

_That was when Sonic saw heaven before his eyes. The sausage dog being in a particularly medium roll, both fitting together like they were meant to be (in Sonic's eyes, they really were). _

_Then the holy chili lathered on top of the hot dog, oh god… it __**really **__was heaven!_

"_Buddy, you didn't have to do this!" Sonic whispered, as if in a trance with the chili dog._

"_Well, you were upset, so I kinda just wanted to cheer you up and try to start afresh, you know?" Tails blushed bashfully, scratching the back of his head "And I just thought that a chili dog can help. Cream also said that you always cheer up with something like this. So here ya go- Sonic?!"_

_Sonic didn't even look like he was listening, finishing the chili dog in seconds. He sucked the tip of his fingers, trying to savour as much as his taste buds could handle. He even went as far as sniffing the taste of his hands. Once he was done, he patted his stomach in satisfaction._

"_So… what were you saying Tails?"_

"_...Sonic...I...speech…"_

"_Sorry, what was that? I can't hear you."_

"_Sonic! I was giving you a good speech, that took me ages to write! Could you have at least listened to a __**few **__words?!" Tails flushed bright red in anger._

"_Sorry buddy, I didn't know you were talking."_

"_Wow… that didn't take long to figure out…"_

"_But thanks anyway Tails, it was really delicious."_

"_Your welcome. Now I'm gonna get ready; me and Cream are going shopping for flowers, Amy's flowers seem to be dying." Tails walked upstairs, humming a tune to himself. Sonic heard the faint shutting noise, however he didn't seem to care. He thought to himself a bit._

"_Wasn't there something I was supposed to give her?" Sonic mumbled to himself, deep in thought. It was a while. Until a light bulb lit up above his head. He clicked his fingers and smiled "The box!". He zoomed up the stairs to his room - grabbing the box and sprinted back downstairs and out the unlocked door._

_It only took his seconds to get to the graveyard. But he didn't enter. He was too shocked to enter. _

_Tears began to arise as he saw the back of a familiar pink female. "A-A-Amy!" He cried out, jogging up towards her body, but as he tried to hug her, his face met the ground. He sniffed a little and rubbed his nose. It didn't hurt, but he was damn confused. He looked back, checking to see if she was there. She was there, but she was in the same position. However, she looked focused, forlorn._

_She was wearing a red dress the same design when she was younger, but the hem of the dress was more flowing, and there was a red ribbon tied around her wrist._

"_Amy?" Sonic asked, puzzled if this was the Amy he knew before. She had the same length of hair when he last met her. And everything else was in check so…_

_Sonic tried one last time to grab her hand, but it only went straight through, as if it was imaginary._

"_Maybe this is imaginary…" Sonic mumbled to himself, groaning in anger and sadness. If only it was her... He stood up in silence, dusting himself off, whilst not even sparing a glance at 'Amy'._

"_I'm losing it again…" Sonic chanted to himself "She's not there, she's not real…"_

"_She may not be real, but she was there…" A female voice whispered. Sonic jumped alert, rapidly rotating to see the figure of the voice. He then saw a ghostly figure of Amy Rose, but when she was twelve. She also had no face. "Sonic…"_

_When his name escaped her lips, Sonic shivered. It was a spine-chilling call, almost the call of death. He looked behind to see the other 'Amy', but she was gone. He spun back to see the ghostly Amy, but she was gone too. "Amy- or… whoever you are, where did you go?". No response. Sonic was way too creeped out to call out for her again, but he didn't want to let it go. He wasn't religious or anything, but it could be a vision of some sort. So he ran to where he first thought they both could be; Amy's grave._

_Well… he thought he reached Amy's grave. But instead, he only reached nothing. No grave. No tombstone. Not even a rose was there. However, he did see that the imaginary 'Amy' was in front of her mother's grave, determination and regret in her eyes. And in her hand was the lavender rose that Sonic gave to her. The rose when he said he will never leave her._

_Then everything went black._

_**-=- Stronger -=-**_

It was the witching hour. The full moon was out, and Rouge was ready. She was wearing a tight leather full suit, with a mask covering her facial features (except the eyes) and black knee high boots. She had a carrier belt around her waist, equipped with smoke bombs, a pistol, a detector and a small bag - but big enough to carry a Chaos Emerald.

"This should take about fifteen minutes maximum." Rouge hummed, smirking to herself. "If any later, which it won't, then I can just get my way through the naughty way… sorry Knuckie."

She swooped down silently from a high building, towards the top of the museum. She glanced through a window. Even though it was only a second, she could see that there were… no guards? "That's strange…" She whispered to herself, but she couldn't back down on the prize. No way is an unusual even gonna stop her from getting her jewel.

She landed on top of the museum, then used the detector to see if there were any guards moving.

There were guards. A lot of them. However, they all seemed to be in one big pile near the entrance of the museum. "I suppose they got the 'Stronger Entrance Security' Wrong…" Rouge giggled to herself. She got to the entrance on top, and held onto the edge of the roof, swinging down so she dangled in front of a window near the entrance. She gasped, seeing a bizarre situation through the window. The guards seem to be unconscious, and in a massive pile. She let go of the roof, landing gracefully onto the surface, then ran towards the entrance -which looked busted open. She only glanced at the body pile once more, before rushing off to where the Chaos Emerald was. She had been here so many times, she didn't really need a map. She opened the door to where the Chaos Emerald lied.

Until she saw it vanished. The red cushion it used to be in a glass case. It was gone. She blinked once, then twice, then thrice. "...What?"

The only other person- or hedgehog- she knew would take the Chaos Emerald also was Shadow. But he would have told her about it. Plus, he already had a red one. So who else could have taken it?

"Boo…" A flirty voice spoke behind Rouge, causing Rouge to gasp a little and quickly turn. In the shadows, she could see the jade hues staring at her. The bat also felt the presence of an evil smirk in the darkness also. "Surprise… Looking for this?" The female voice asked, Holding up a green Chaos Emerald; shining green in its beauty.

"Who are you?" Rouge asked strongly, narrowing her eyes towards the female.

"I'm quite shocked you haven't heard about me before…" The female began, beginning to stroll out the shadows "Not that it hurts my ego, of course. I like to be mysterious." It turned out to be same pink hedgehog that beat Eggman.

"Pink Angel…" Rouge muttered in astonishment. She instantly got in a fighting stance.

"Oh, so you do know me?" The Pink Angel chuckled tauntingly, also getting in her fighting stance. "I guess that could boost my ego a little."

"Shut it, Pinky!" Rouge hollered, running towards the pink hedgehog.

"Oooo… don't I love a good challenge." The hedgehog replied, jumping just as Rouge was about to throw a punch. However, Rouge swung her foot in the air, landing a kick in the hedgehog's gut. The pink angel winced, whilst smashing towards the nearby wall. Rouge was sprinting towards her, about to blow a punch in her face, but the Pink Angel gripped onto Rouge's fist tightly, using her other hand to grip Rouge's arm and smash her towards the wall, then the floor.

Rouge cried out in pain, trying to recover from the attack. But PA stomped her foot into Rouge's stomach, forcing the air out of her. Rouge struggled to get free from the foot, but no victory.

"Hmmm…." Amy pondered slowly, looking down at the squirming bat, "I guess you are a little better than Knuckles, I didn't even fight him anyway." She pressed her foot a little harder, hearing a small gasp. She chuckled mercilessly "But I already knew he was a big-" Harder. "Fat." Harder. "Dumbo who tried to challenge me, and you would probably join him too-." She paused, releasing her foot from Rouge. She stared at Rouge bluntly. She saw that she got Rouge breathing heavily, and blood from her lip. She didn't want to do that, she only wanted to scare her. To challenge her.

PA thought about it, then sighed. She needed to relax, she only came for the Chaos Emerald, and she got it. She turned her back to Rouge, walking towards the door. "You better tell you boyfriend that you are injured. You're lucky that I'm not a ruthless monster. I got what I needed anyway."

Once PA left, Rouge weakly got her phone out and pressed speed dial. She waited a few seconds before hearing Knuckles gumble on the other side.

"Hello?"

"Knuckles it's me…" Rouge panted harshly.

"Rouge, you okay? What happened?!"

"Just get here quick. I got attacked by the Pink Angel."

**SO… Rouge got attacked by the Pink Angel (Or Amy…) and Sonic had some sort of vision. I wonder what will happen in the next chapter? I hope you all enjoyed this. Next time I will do all the reviews I got from last chapter and this one. But for now, see you in the next chapter!**

**Also, try to stay calm about the confusing vision, and Amy's thoughts. It's all gonna be explained soon. (Sonic's is going to be the main one (I think) Next time)!**


	6. Chapter 4: New Rivals right?

**Duskyminer:**

**_Thank you to the following people for reading and commenting on the last chapter:_**

**_Sonamylover6822, DragonTooth24006, adar13, Taurus Pixie, chromedust, aliixo, Shadowscast214 and all those Guests! Thank you!_**

**Wow you guys… Is this story that good? ^_^; Well I am very VERY happy about you guys liking the chapters. And I am really enjoying making the chapters. If only I wasn't busy so much, I would be on this like wildfire!**

**But at least I keep updating, and reading all your good reviews. Thank you guys so much! Hmmm… I'm thinking of adding a new character in soon (after this or the other chapter). So if you have any suggestions as to who -except for Shadow because he will be in here, don't worry - please let me know in your reviews.**

**But who cares about my rambling. On with the story!**

* * *

Sonic abruptly woke up, gasping heavily. Sweat poured from his quills, dampening his green covers. He pondered hastily about his 'dream'... or 'vision' of some sort. It had Amy… And the younger body of Amy but with no face. The imaginary Amy was looking to her mother's grave; she had the lavender rose in her hand; she wasn't there… but she was?

"Ugh, this is like a puzzle…" Sonic mumbled, rubbing his forehead in confusion "And I'm bad at puzzles…" He turned his head to the counter near him - still seeing the small, velvet box that was Amy's former present. He smiled softly, picking up the small box and studying it slowly. "She would have loved this so much…" Sonic whispered to himself. "If only I was quicker…." The blue hedgehog inwardly cursed at the thought. He wasn't fast enough… that's a new one. He enclosed the box with his fist, and his hands tightened dangerously. Before he unleashed his anger, he heard the door open swiftly below. He blinked for a second, then put the box in his quills - keeping it safe. He jogged down the stairs, encountering a rushing yellow fox - with his white gloves and rich brown goggles on. Was...was he going on the X tornado?

"Tails?" Sonic asked in suspicion. Tails only gave Sonic a flick of his wrist, continuing getting some other equipment in the main room. Hidden blueprints… weapons… communicators…

"Tails what is going on?"

"Sonic," Tails spoke sternly. "Sonic, I am going to go to Angel Island to pick up my girlfriend. I have no time to talk right now."

"What was she doing at Angel Island?" Sonic asked further, hoping Tails would at least answer that question.

"Rouge was attacked by the Pink Angel." Tails replied briefly "Cream was just tending to her wounds."

"Wait what? Why did the Pink Angel-?"

"Not now Sonic!" Tails said sternly, looking at Sonic with a meditative glare. Silence filled the room for some time, before Tails (looking elsewhere but Sonic) said softer "Look, just go and be free for a while… I'll come back later and tell you everything…" After that, Tails left the room and headed to the door, closing it with quite a loud slam.

Sonic looked at the door in puzzlement, then thought of what he said. "The Pink Angel attacked Rouge? I should feel angry… she hurt one of my friends…" As Sonic paused, he walked out the door, deciding to go to visit Amy's grave.

"I should feel enraged. I should want revenge… But why is it the opposite? Why do I feel like she had a reason…?"

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

"Damn it!" Amy spat loudly, repeatedly kicking the tree near Amy's grave. Her mind burned with what she did last night. She really didn't mean to do it, _she really didn't_. And she shouldn't really care either. Her mind was guilty. Her heart was broken. Her soul was dark. "Damn it!" She cursed again, creating a deeper gash on the side of the tree. As soon as she was fatigued, she slowly came to a stop. She panted promptly, looking at the damage she did to the tree. Ruined but standing, like she wanted to do to anyone who messes with her. She just wants to scare them, but keep them alive. Not what she did last night.

She thought about toning down her violence. To level with the opponent, but just have the better reflexes. That sounded better, it sounds like a safe but frisky - the way she liked it. She smirked at her new formed plan, but then her ear twitched from hearing someone running very fast towards her. _Very fast…_

"Sonic…" She whispered, jumping high into the tree tops, and on the lowest branch she could rest on. She waited patiently to see his arrival, and just a few seconds later, he was there; in front of the godforsaken grave. She watched him carefully, eyeing every move he did.

"Hey Ames," He spoke softly, putting a hand in his quills. "I know you're nineteen, and that I could just wait till Christmas, but I can't. I was supposed to give this to you a couple of years ago… but you…" He stuttered a little "Y-you passed away. So here ya go." He took his hand out of his quills, then gently placed it near the lavender rose. Amy peeked a little closer, curious as to what was contained in the box.

"What is that?" She whispered. "I hope it's not anything expensi-," She paused, shaking her head "Why would I care? If it was stolen, it would be his fault. So there!"

"I'm sorry," Sonic apologised randomly, catching Amy's attention again. "If I was only more caring. If only I looked after you more… If only I was quicker in thought…" She saw his hands turn into fists, shaking slightly from the amount of force. "If only I was quicker to ask you… you would probably still be here, _with me!"_

Amy was slightly tense from what he said. _Ask me what?! _She thought curiously. Maybe she should pay Sonic a visit…

Amy climbed down sneakily from the tree, tip-toeing towards the back of the blue blur. Once she was close enough behind him, she smiled coyly, whispering in his ear "That's only probably… not certain."

Sonic gasped and screeched a little, before rotating rapidly, meeting the shadows of a giggling angel. He let out a sigh of relief, then let his ears shoot up in curiosity. _That giggle was so much like Amy's _He thought lovingly. His heart started to get much quicker than he remembered - and a blush was starting to take over his muzzle. "First time I've heard you giggle, Pink Angel." Sonic chuckled, making Amy stop abruptly and get in a fighting stance. "Awh, I thought you were going soft on me…" He cooed cheekily.

"Shut up, blue hog!" Amy hollered, hiding the pink - rising up on her muzzle - under her hood. She gave him a warning glare, before standing up again. "I'd rather die than giggle for _you_…"

"Well… you did just giggle so…"

"T-That was not a giggle! That was laughing at your girlish act. I never knew you could scream like a little girl…" Amy purred playfully, crossing her arms and smirking at the cobalt hedgehog.

"I did not scream like a girl!" Sonic exclaimed loudly, red tainting his muzzle once again. "I was just surprised in a very _manly _way!"

"Manly way…" Amy replied sarcastically. "Yeah sure, all men does that. I might as well surprise Knuckles again and see if he does that too…"

_Knuckles? _Sonic thought, alarmed that she called him by name. _Oh wait, yeah… the message she gave me…_

Before Sonic started to get depressed once more - he didn't _ever _want to go there again - He shook his head to shake off the past memories, keeping a smile plastered on his face.

"So, where have you been?" Sonic asked the hidden hedgehog, who only gave him a pointed look.

"Why would you want to know?" She hissed silently, trying to avoid answering the question. Sonic was nosy.

"Just askin'!" The blue hedgehog raised his hands in defence, backing up slowly and his smile turning playful. "But seriously… how was the wolf?"

Amy suddenly stopped scowling, her eyes softened as she remembered what happened in the hospital. She was thinking as to tell him, or just deny him again. Sonic noticed her deep in the thought, so he pressed "Come On, Pinky, I have a right to know as well. I was checking if she was okay, and I do want to know how the Station Square citizens are-"

"She's fine," The sakura hedgehog mumbled, barely audible for Sonic to hear "She just needed some medical attention, and was let out the next morning. But I left when I dropped her off."

"Oh," Sonic sighed in relief, letting out an exhausted sigh "That's a relief, I thought she was going to get concussion, I mean geez - that animal was really harsh on her, and I thought she _actually _was going to be treated, but I guess it was a bump and all…"

The more words that came out the blue blur's mouth, the more frustrated the Pink Angel was. It was as if he didn't notice that the Pink Angel was still _there_! Amy tensed immensely under her cloak, shaking from the amount of pressure she was putting on herself. However, out of anger, she said "Why do you care now?"

Sonic paused through his blabbering, staring at the other hedgehog in confusion. Silence occurred as the seconds ticked by. Nevertheless, Amy was still angry. "I'm only saying this once more, why do _you _care?"

"...Because they're citizens of this city?" Sonic answered, but came out as a question. He didn't really know where this was going, or why she was so angry.

"But hey, when you were all locked up in your room - _they _were still citizens. When you didn't help to save the day, _they _were still citizens…

When Amy ran away, and all you did was mope around all day, not caring… _They were still citizens!"_

Sonic tensed when she mentioned Amy again. His puzzled gaze turned into a hard glare, raising a brow.

"Is that really the right way to go around this?"

The Pink Angel didn't flinch, but did go deep in the thought, her glare staring bitterly at the hedgehog.

Sonic continued "No need to add Amy in this conversation. I know I did wrong, you've told me indirectly. However, it's not your place to say anything that has to do with either Amy alone or my troubles with Amy. You don't know as much as I do about her. And besides…

Why are you telling me how to treat my citizens, when you_ attacked _two?"

Amy thought about what he said for a moment, before widening her eyes slightly. She realised who he was talking about; he was talking about Rouge and Knuckles. For a second, the only noise that replaced the silence, was the gentle breeze whistling incoherent tunes. Nevertheless, Amy realised that she was in the wrong. But she definitely won't admit it in front of _Sonic_.

"Unlike you," Amy began, crossing her arms "I actually have _reasons_ as to why I attacked them both."

"Reason or no reason, you still attacked the innocent." Sonic pointed out, having a small smirk appear on his face. He didn't want to smile, not even show a smirk; he wasn't enjoying talking about some attack he didn't know in such a way. But if it was to get the Pink Angel to talk, then so be it.

Meanwhile, Amy narrowed her eyes sharply at Sonic's smirk. _He was enjoying this… _she thought heatedly. _Oh it's on, blue boy…_

"Well I didn't actually attack Knuckles, if I recall. And Rouge? Well, she was in my way-!" Amy paused, realising what she was doing. She couldn't believe it. She was giving information freely as if he was a friend; as if she trusted him. _What was she doing?!_

"I've already told you too much." Amy growled under her breath "All you need to know, is that one day, you'll step down from being the hero and I will take your place. _Forever_…"

Silence occurred once more. Until a slight chuckle erupted the silence. The pink hedgehog instantly tensed in anger. He thought all of this was a _joke_?

"Tails gave me a sinister look today, because _you _attacked Rouge." Sonic spoke in a hushed whisper "However, it sounded as if _I am _getting the blame for the attack. And I should be angrier - no - more _enraged _that you hurt one of my friends that has been with me when I was hurt. So no, you haven't told me too much. In fact, the opposite; you have told me too _little_!"

"It's _my _choice whether I want to tell you my duties or not!"

"Then don't include attacking the _innocent _in your duties! If you want to be a so called 'hero', then act like one and _save them_!"

"It wasn't my intention to _hurt _her-!" Amy paused mid-sentence, with both of their ears catching a ringing tone and a light glow from Sonic's wrist. It was his communicator. It took Sonic a few moments to realise, until he sighed deeply and answered it. "Y'ellow?"

"Sonic, it's Tails." Tails said curtly.

"Yo Tails," Sonic greeted, eyeing the Pink Angel carefully "How's Rouge coming along?"

"She's fine," Tails replied quickly "I just need you to answer some stuff, we haven't got much time…"

That's when Sonic saw what was behind Tails. It was a very familiar setting; with metal walls and a bunch of robots running around to and fro. That's when he realised, "Tails, are you in Eggman's base?!"

"Sonic, now is not the time! Just answer this: Have you seen the Pink Angel recently?"

"…" Sonic didn't know anymore. What could he say? He _knows _that he should really tell the truth. Tails is his best friend and Pinky was his… He doesn't even know the answer to that.

"Sonic?" Tails asked, seeing Sonic blank out after his question.

Sonic turned his head to the tree, seeing the Pink Angel still there, anticipating on what he will say. Her eyes didn't show off any signs of emotions. It was just blunt. However, Sonic still felt some sort of sick feeling in his stomach, knowing whatever look she was giving him, it was turning him upside down.

Almost as if in a trance, Sonic turned back to the screen and bluntly replied "No."

Tails paused for a moment, turning his head to the side and gave a nod, before asking once more "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Sonic answered in a monotone. There were no other words conversed between them; Sonic just shut his communicator after that. It only took him the few seconds of tense silence to become one with his mind again.

The hero then just realised what he had done, starting to shake in awareness.

He just betrayed his best friend. That's what he's done.

"Why'd you do it?" He jumped. He didn't even realise she was still there. To think that she was his so called 'rival', she would smirk and mock his weakness for her. _For goodness sake_, he didn't even know this _woman_! But it felt like he had known her for eternity! He inwardly cried in anger, confused by his own actions for the past few days.

Knowing that he didn't answer the pink hedgehog's question, he chuckled. It was dark and dull, not showing any particular emotion that said how he felt. He didn't know how to feel anymore, either. "As if I'd know."

"Of course you would know, or you wouldn't do such a thing."

"Don't you think if I had known, I would have said?" That made Amy widen her eyes slightly. "I had just lied to my best friend, telling him I haven't seen you recently and here you are, right next to me. Do you think I would have an _answer _for that?"

The question only led the atmosphere into more silence, as if it wasn't so anxious before. All the pink one could do was stare at his stance. His arms were limp, his head faced the underworld. She couldn't read any of his movements, neither bothered. After the few minutes of silence, PG sighed to herself. It was no use to try and get him to talk anymore; he would just reply with a question again and again.

Nevertheless, she waited patiently. She wouldn't leave without some kind of answer, making sense or not. Her foot tapped the grassy terrain consistently, not giving up on finding the answer. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into more minutes…

It was ten minutes until Sonic decided to 'wake up' from his grief. His murky eyes turned to her; the one that put his brain on shutdown as he answered. His lips curved into a ghostly smirk, "Ah, you're still here?"

"I want an answer."

"An answer that you will never get until I know myself." The cobalt hedgehog observed the determination in her eyes, not fading no matter what he said. It enraged yet enthralled him. Then finally, he thought of what to say.

Sonic turned his body round fully, so he was face to face with Amy. Her eyes went from determination to curiosity, watching every movement he made in case he was going to attack. "You know what, I accept your offer. To be rivals." Sonic simpered, taking his hand out for Amy to shake. She looked at his hand, then his eyes, and back to his hands. _'What a change of mind…' _she pondered quizzically. Nevertheless, she gently put her palm in his and grasped it, slowly shaking his hand in affirmation.

His hand instantly squeezed her in a pulsing grip, making her wince and let out a silent cry. She instantly looked into his eyes. His eyes didn't show anything but poisonous humor as he watched her tremble in his grip. He whispered huskily "Though I must warn you, Pinky. I'm not gonna go easy on you…

_Prepare for hell_."

Of course he was only teasing, giving a small wink afterwards. But somehow, Amy felt as if the words were partly ture. Pushing the thought aside, she released her hand from his, and brought it back to her side. Noting how the sun was nearing sunset, she knew her time here was up. Despite that, she told Sonic "Nice doing business with you." Before jumping high in the air to a nearby tree. And with that, she was gone.

It took a while for Sonic to process what he had done, finally getting some time alone. His mind didn't make sense anymore. He was either jumbled or blank. Why does the Pink Angel remind him so much of Amy? She also wouldn't leave him without an answer, having to bring out her piko hammer if he didn't co-operate. But this woman doesn't fight at all; she just stands there with that certain look in her eye, determined to not leave him without a reply. They are both the same, but different.

Sonic only wondered that if Amy was to be here now, would she be like the Pink Angel…

…_Would she?_

The blue hedgehog groaned in frustration, pulling his quills as he tried to think. He tried to find any differences between the two. Anything to put his mind at rest to know the Pink Angel was not Amy, therefore he couldn't feel pleasantly sick in the stomach, every time he saw her.

It just didn't make sense.

Maybe it's just because of his hormones, and that PG did have all the right curves in all the right places…

Damn it! Even his own hormones betrayed him!

He tried one more time, violently shaking away his perverted thoughts to somewhere far. Amy used to fight with a hammer, that's a difference! And that hammer was powerful too!

But… the way that mysterious hedgehog swung her leg at Eggman's robot… that was like she was swinging a hammer, but kind of more alluring.

Amy used to always give a happy and warm smile, and that smile could just light up a whole street with happiness. It was fun yet heart-warming, and was one of the many reasons why he loved her in the end. Pink Angel does smile at him. However, her one is more suggestive, and her eyes becoming half-lidded with false want didn't help him either. She was just try to lure him in closer, before she pounced and attacked him (coming from a guy that has only met her 3 times).

Oh Gaia, it was horrifyingly difficult to find something clearly different about them. Well… apart from one. Amy Rose was far more in love with him than the Pink Angel was. Even more of a reason why he shouldn't feel this way for the pink hedgehog. Plus they were rivals, and rivals go against each other for a purpose. This strange attraction she has for her is not real; only his imagination. It was probably some hormonal moment, or he could be simply infatuated with her – she _was_ pretty sexy if Sonic was going to be honest with himself, but that's it.

Good. Sonic nodded swiftly, clearing up his mind a bit more. Now he has an understanding of where he was with the relationship of 'Pinky'; there was none. It was only a playful fight until now. Now things are serious, and he wasn't prepared to lose. He looked down on the ground, seeing his shadow slightly in front and across from him, signalling the blazing sun falling down closer to night-time. That must meant that Tails was home, and that he would get answers from him.

Looking back to the grave once more, and the box that laid there, he ran off outside the area to see Tails once again (hopefully in a better mood).

If only Sonic paid attention to the other shadow that was behind him.

* * *

**Duskyminer: Sonic's getting a little confused about his feelings, huh? Uh oh, but he's gotta remain faithful for his love for Amy! What is he gonna do?**

**AAAH Plot twist! Rubbish little wired endy-thingy there. And yes, Sonic did have a little change in heart as he ****realised****how much she was like Amy (Only that she is ¬w¬) I wanna ask you guys a question, when do you think he or the others will realise that she is Amy? Hm… Interesting.**

**Oh I can't wait to write the next chapter, and guess** who**should be in it…?! Shadow!**

**Please review this story (I aim for 40 or more, that'll be nice!) And like, favourite, follow, tell your friends, and have a cookie!**


	7. Chapter 5: Discovery

**Duskyminer:**

**_Thank you to the following people for reading and reviewing last chapter:_**

**_Errui, CashCash and Taurus Pixie. Thank you!_**

**I've gotta say guys, the reviews I'm getting are awesome, but I want more reviews from everyone that is reading this. So to all of you out there reading this, PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what is good and/or to improve on. You can even just say 'Awesome!' if you want. And I will keep trying so that this is better than the last chapter! And the last chapter, and so on! LET'S. DO. THIS.**

* * *

Tails was ang-no; _furious_! How could this pink hedgehog just come over here and ruin Tails's plan?! He spent time working it out from the facts and figures, mind you, so it was beyond frustrating that she would just randomly come and get the damn chaos emerald! Plus, she just _had _to leave a message on Rouge's face! Rouge right now was on Angel Island, being taken care of by Cream and Vanilla, whilst Knuckles was also vexed by the Pink Angel.

Tails wasn't just furious, he was _pissed_.

He was tinkering a few bits on his planes, ready to attack Eggman. Oh he wasn't going to back down because of the attack. Instead, he was going to unleash hell on Eggman and his godforsaken robots. Because he was sure Eggman and the Pink Angel are working together, forming some sort of hectic plan. Luckily, Tails had the brain to know that the plan was bullshit, and he was going to stop it.

The yellow fox heatedly open the door, ignoring the huge bang noise it made on the wall. He didn't care. He was pissed off, so there was no room to care. Grumbling incoherent words to himself, he started to go through box after box to get the right tools he needed. His ears twitched slightly from the sounds of the squeaky stairs, hearing the familiar heavy footsteps coming down towards him. The genius knew who it was, but didn't bother to notice. He was too pissed to notice.

"Tails?" He heard Sonic question. Tails wasn't going to let Sonic distract him at the moment. All of this is for him, anyway. Nevertheless, he flicked his wrist at Sonic half-heartedly, acknowledging his presence. The blueprints… the gadgets… lasers… communicators… he needed it all.

"Tails, what is going on?"

_Dammit Sonic, can't you see I'm busy! _Tails thought irritably. If an answer was going to shut him up, then he had no other choice, did he? He checked all his equipment, whilst answering "Sonic," He picked up the laser gun "Sonic, I am going to Angel Island to pick up my girlfriend."

As if Sonic wanted to irritate him, he asked further "What is she doing at Angel Island?"

"Rouge was attacked by the Pink Angel. Cream was just tending to her wounds." He thought that was enough for Sonic. Tails's eyes flicked to the clock near the stairs, silently gasping from what time it was. He needed to go. Now.

"Wait, what? Why did the Pink Angel-?"

_Oh for the love of…!_ "Not now Sonic!" The fox almost screamed at him, exerting his anger to someone who didn't deserve it. He then realised that he did, in fact, shout at him, seeing his shocked yet depressed face looking at him. He sighed to himself, mentally punching himself for shouting at Sonic. He couldn't even face him anymore… "Look, just go and be free for a while… I'll come back later and tell you everything."

He couldn't stay any longer.

Once he was outside the door, he briefly looked at his equipment once more, remembering to bring his carrier belt with him. He needed to do this. For Sonic.

* * *

**_-=- Stronger-=-_**

* * *

The flight was short. However, Tails was later than expected, because of his talk with Sonic. "If only Sonic could just ask questions at the end…" He whispered to himself, yet still had that heavy guilt in his heart for shouting at his best friends. Best friends don't shout at each other, ever. They were supposed to be there for one another, no matter what.

Well, technically, Tails was doing Sonic a favour. He was going to put the Pink Angel _threat _at rest, so that Sonic can still keep his place and not get locked up in his room again. _He wouldn't allow it_.

He knocked on the door, immediately hearing muffled noises inside. He definitely heard words like "Here" and "Ready", but also heard the fast pace walking steps coming closer to the door. Then the door opened, revealing an extremely cute rabbit with a – surprisingly – well developed body. She was decked out with a tight leather jacket and pants that went to her knees, also wearing black knee-high boots that were strong and supportive, helpful to dash around and climb quickly into areas. Her face was showing an innocent smile, oblivious to the fact that her suit was showing how developed she was now that she was sixteen (which was hard to not look at).

"Miles!" Cream smiled, blushing a little as she saw how mature Tails looked too. He may have not changed much (except the fact that he was taller and more muscular), but he was still as handsome as she knew he was. She still remembered the time when he reached puberty, and that all sacred take-a-hammer-to-the-voice-box change was pretty drastic. It just randomly happened one day (not that she was complaining). At first, she was scared he was choking on something without realising, causing his voice to go funny. But then she realised that he was at that ripe age of fifteen to be going through the phase, which didn't bother her at all.

"Hey Cream." He smiled, still mentally kicking himself for sneaking a peak at her developing looks. "Is Rouge doing ok?"

Cream's smile suddenly turned into a frown "We had to ask Knuckles to use the Master Emerald to aid her internal organs. It seemed as if the Pink Angel's boot caused some of damage to Rouge's stomach. It wasn't dangerous but it wasn't in perfect order either. After the healing, she had to vomit quite a few times so her stomach got rid of any food that she had cause of the power. Right now she's resting. But…" Cream narrowed her eyes to the ground, looking elsewhere but Tails "I think she is depressed and confused about something. She keeps muttering to herself that she's missing a clue. That there is something the Pink Angel _is _hiding."

Tails looked at the cream rabbit with a stern gaze, then scoffed "Of course she's hiding something. She is working with Eggman." _He was sure she was_. Cream's reaction was an unpleasant one, giving him a grim look as if he insulted her offensively. "Come on, Cream! No one else has an idea, and the Pink Angel hasn't shown up ever and neither has Eggman. That has _got _to be a clue!"

"She attacked Eggman, and Eggman looked scared?" Cream raised a brow, looking at Tails in disbelief.

Tails shrugged "It could all be a simple act. And they may do many more, so that the whole population of Station Square- and eventually, Mobius- would believe that she is on their side. Then Sonic would give up as he has no supporters, and sulk for _Gaia _knows how long! And when everyone has let their guard down, she and Eggman would attack and try to overpower this place, with _whatever _plan they have up their sleeves!

Plus, Sonic has been tricked by Eggman sometimes from his 'innocent' act, Eggman is a pretty good actor after all, I will give him that much credit."

Cream was not pleased. Not at all. It seemed as if Miles was more into the case than her feelings. He wasn't really taking everyone around him seriously, and was only focusing on the task at hand. However, it didn't just frustrate her slightly, but made her anxious as well. She _hoped _he was calm in mind, and wasn't planning anything harsh on Eggman.

Besides, they don't know if Eggman is even _included _in this mess.

"_Miles…_" She sighed, dispirited. Despite hearing her disheartened exhalation, Tails paid no mind to her, walking straight into the house whilst murmuring random plans to himself. That stunned Cream more. She instantly turned back, only to meet no one but another door leading to where the rest were. Tails was gone.

Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes.

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

"Is she doing okay, Knuckles?"

"She keeps murmuring things…" Knuckles whispered, almost in some sort or nightmare, "She keeps whispering Amy's name… I-I don't know why…"

_What…? _That was shocking. Out of everyone who could be talking about Amy, _Rouge _was definitely not one of the first. Maybe… the Pink Angel mentioned her name? Or maybe just some sort of trauma…

"Don't worry Knuckles, once we sort things out, everything will be the way it was. I promise…" The promise was false, and Tails knew it. Even if everything was sorted out, they will all still be in some sort of stress, one way or another. Especially Sonic. _Sonic… _Guilt slithered up Tails's spine once more, causing sadness and resentment to seep into his surrendering soul.

"Where's Vanilla?" Tails questioned, shaking away the burdened feeling.

"She's in the kitchen, cooking something for Rouge. If she can eat…" The red echidna slurred that last part, staring intently into Rouge's face. She was sweating a lot, and she seemed as if some sort of nightmare was playing around her head, over and over. And it just wouldn't stop…

"Tails, as much as I want to help you in this 'mission'… I think I'm gonna stay here with Rouge."

The fox was about to retort with a blunt query, but thought against it. Rouge was his girlfriend, he had a right to stay with her as she gets better. Nevertheless, that meant that it was going to be only him and Shadow and…

…

_Why was Cream wearing that outfit again?_

_Oh no… She wasn't thinking of… was she?_

"Miles, I need a communicator!" He heard his sweetheart say from upstairs. However, he heard how her voice was more vexed than normal – than _ever_. "Miles!" She shouted again, this time stomping down the stairs.

"Cream, you are _not _going to Eggman with us!" Tails demanded strictly. Oh she was _not _going on this one. This mission could be critical for all he knew! Who knows what Eggman was up to for the last days he was absent!

Miles swiftly walked outside the room, only to be met by a cute rabbit that looked as if she was about to murder someone. Her eyes narrowed to the point of icy glares staring right back at him. Her mouth was a thin straight line. Her hands were on her hips. Her eyebrow was raised. Her supportive-defensive-well-developed-sexy outfit had a gadget belt.

Oh, she was going alright…

"Miles, give me a communicator please…?" She drawled out scarily suggestive. Her left hand came from her hip, and then in front of her. Her face cocked to the side with an impatient look.

"Cream, no-!"

"Miles!" Cream suddenly snapped, jumping Tails abruptly "Come on, you and me _both _know that you and Shadow cannot do this alone. Even if he is really powerful. You're even lucky enough to have three working on this! You know that I can fight and help others, so let me be independent this time!"

Cream suffered a long pause after that, seeing Tails's face change from confusion, to defeat; to grumpy; to pondering and back to confusion. She guessed it was because he did care about her so much, that he didn't really trust her to keep herself from danger (even though she was _sixteen_).

"Fine," He grumbled sourly, taking a communicator from his belt and giving it to her. She took it victoriously and smirked at the whimpering fox. "Just make sure you are _safe _and _do NOT _go where I don't tell you to!"

"Thank you Miles!" She thanked politely, with her sweet voice coming back – oh and that toothy _sinister _grin she wore after she won a fight. This wasn't the first time Tails and her had this similar style of events (with her _always _winning), so he was used to this… _slightly_.

"Whatever…" he grumbled back. Just then, his communicator went off, jumping both him and Cream out of the tense atmosphere.

"Hello?" He called out, hearing the faint whipping noises in the background.

"Tails, I'm on the move, where are you?" A deep grumble came from the other end

"Shadow, I am so sorry but I'll be right there shortly! Also, there is gonna be a replacement of Knuckles on the way…" Tails grumbled the last sentence, giving Cream a side glare. Only to find her not _actually _there. However, his ears twitched suspiciously, hearing the sound of propellers revving up for action. They were the similar noises of Tails's… _Oh my Gaia! She __**can't**__!_

"Shadow I'm gonna cut this short. Seeyouthere_bye!_" Tails swiftly shrieked, thinking of all the _disasters _Cream could be up to now! Oh Gaia, oh Gaia, oh Gaia, _SHE CAN'T!_

**_…_**

_She totally can! _Cream smirked sweetly at Tails's horrified expression, almost catching a glimpse of tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. She was dancing with evil. She knew it. But she didn't really want to do all of this on purpose; in fact, she was only _going _on the mission because she knew how much Tails had changed, and she wanted him to realise that there was a possibility that the Pink Angel was not working with Eggman. She didn't know why, but her inner conscience kept screaming out that the Pink Angel was really just like Sonic. But there was more of a story to it…

What story? She didn't know yet.

Right now she was just loving the fact that she was having power over Tails. Ever since she was fifteen, her hormones were changing into things she thought was amusing. She got more confident when she was angry, and was more enduring when upset. Her flexibility became like a professional gymnast (which even surprised Tails) and her determination reached to unlimited potential.

The one most noticeable change in personality, was her thirst for dominance. It's rare for anyone to see her superior side, since she was always so 'pure' and 'innocent', but she did grow a backbone in the last months of her all special puberty. (Her mum had always said that she would have some powerful traits like her dad). Despite her change, Tails still could love her the same way he did years ago.

But things like these, made Tails reconsider his relationship.

"Cream, I love you and you know that, but can you please get out of my seat?"

"Get in Miles." She ordered, her 'sweet' voice showing no sugar at all. She was already buckled in at the front, with her headphones on and microphone intact. The satnav was prepared at the desk of the plane, with the co-ordinates locked on.

Basically, she was not budging. And Tails, knowing that nothing would work, gave up on persuasion and obliged to her order.

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

The plane ride was silent, and no conversations ever occurred once. The tense atmosphere continued to rise higher as the seconds ticked by slowly. Tails looked out of the window with no complaints, and Cream managed to focus on getting to the area. The thick line of silence was too thick to be cut, and neither the couple had anything to take it down.

Until Cream took out a saw.

"Something happened, didn't it?" She whispered distraughtly, bowing her head slightly down at the monitor ahead.

Tails didn't comment.

"When you arrived at the house, you seemed really blunt. All your attitude was very strict, and your mind looked as if it was somewhere else…"

Still silence.

"That meant you were guilty, Miles." She knew she hit a sweet spot with that one, hearing him slightly choke on the air he was breathing in. Though, she couldn't make out if he was angry or upset… maybe both?

"You're right. I am guilty," Tails mumbled back, dimming his eyes bluntly "I shouted at Sonic today when I was focusing on getting ready. I was so into finding out about the Pink Angel and her schemes, that when he was trying to talk to me, I just…snapped." His face shadowed a sinful smile, with his eyes gazing at the back of Cream's chair.

"Miles, you know how Sonic is having a hard time. So you should really go easy on him, especially as he hasn't had much sleep since ages."

"I know. I'm sorry Cream that I didn't pay attention to you. I was just so engrossed in this, that I felt like I could put all these problems to rest once I find everything out. And it seems like I was the only one trying to figure everything out, so that Sonic could be 'happy' again. Well, close to happy I guess…"

"I really do think you're overthinking thing a bit _too _much. But… whatever makes you happy, I'll make sure you put your mind at rest and smile." She looked back a bit, glancing over her shoulder a generous grin, before seeing the destination just below the clouds. Tails, though, was smiling softly at the back of Cream's head. After times like these, Tails knew why he loved his sweetheart so much.

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

The shady hedgehog raised a brow up at the scenario he was seeing. So, he was called up to work with Knuckles and Tails to investigate about this mysterious hedgehog (who he was quite curious about also). He agrees nonchalantly, comes on the day to survey around the area; defeated mobs from every angle of the base; waited patiently for the late boys who were supposed to be arriving.

Only to find a guiltless rabbit smiling up at him brightly, decked up and all.

Was the world ending?

"Yo," Shadow greeted grudgingly, trying to shun the pretty face next to the fox "Did you need moral support whilst you were here? And where's that replacement you spoke of?"

Tails's eyes shifted to Cream, then back up at Shadow, who was not amused. "She's right here."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Shadow!" Cream greeted, her smile never erasing off her delicate face. "It's been a while!"

Shadow paused slightly, staring at Cream for a long period of time. Then gave a stern look to Tails. "No."

Tails raised his hands up defensively, shrugging at his reply "Don't look at me. Trust me, I've tried."

"Don't worry Mr. Shadow." Cream bowed her head slightly to Shadow "I've done this before, with someone or not, so I know what to do and which is which. I won't be too much trouble!"

Silence reawakened between them, causing a thick, tense atmosphere to slowly rise. Shadow stared at Cream with an incoherent glare, then flicked his eyes are the anxious fox beside her. Before long, he finally gave an annoyed sigh, inwardly shaking his head in disappointment. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was just going to be Tails, Knuckles and him. That's how it was _planned_. Now he had to be extra alert just in case _Cream _gets in trouble, because this was pretty dangerous with a new suspect going around. Which, by the way, he never had seen before. So if she was lurking around the area, he was sure going to look forward to it.

"Hmph," Shadow grunted, turning his head towards the target base "She's all in your safety, Tails."

In translate, that meant _'Okay, make sure she's alright.' _In Shadow grunts.

Tails smiled and Cream beamed, both thanking Shadow in different attitudes. One was jubilant, and the other was just thankful and relieved… wanna guess which was which?

"Right, now to get to business." Tails spoke seriously, gaining the limelight.

"We don't know what Eggman has done in the base for a while, so it all could be heavily guarded. Shadow, knowing you, you can easily go through the robots like a piece of cake. So you can go through the main entrance and smash the robots to bits. Whilst Cream and I take the side pathways, making sure to disconnect any circuits that lead to the main power supplies. That way, if any mechanisms were to be set off in the fray, they would be shutdown. Does that sound like a plan?"

He got nods of affirmation from both of them.

"Good, then let's get going."

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

"I believe would know that we are here, and is expecting us any moment now." Shadow spoke, showing the way to the young couple.

"That's what I was hoping," Tails replied, looking at his communicator "The communicator has located signals inside the building, robots are just surrounding the entrances to the buildings."

"So what do we do?" Cream asked.

As soon as they got the destination Tails smirked at her cunningly. The building has a large cone as the base, with a big dome for the top. It was made out of bright steel with thin strips of red highlights on the cone, and sentry guns attached to the walls near the entrance, which was a big arch and thick metal doors. Tails stared for a moment, before taking out a key weapon from his gear belt. It was the projectile gun he was working on. Cream's eyes widened. Tails put his right hand through the socket, holding it under with his other hand.

"I'm planning to blast through the doors!" He cried assertively, aiming his hand towards the building. However, he felt Cream's hand touch his arm, stopping him. He gave her a confused look.

"You said that was not completed yet," She spoke gently, observing the object with cautious eyes. "You could not have finished the machine from before!"

"I know," He replied curtly "Which is why I can only use this once." He then turned to Shadow "Shadow, I need you to convert some of the chaos emerald's power into the gun. Will you, please?"

Shadow gave a brisk nod, before taking out the red chaos emerald from his quills. He then used his left hand to touch the gun. He closed his eyes. Seconds later, his fur began to glow a light yellow and his quills raised slightly. Energy flowed from his body, and into the receiver of the weapon. Cream and Tails could feel the heat emitted from the chaos emerald, which was shining blindingly. Soon, the gun had a visible red aura as an outline. Tails's arm felt the charge of electricity run around the firearm as it started to rumble. The sound of a charging engine filled the trio's ears.

"Right," Tails spoke finally, once again aiming at the door of the base. "That should be enough, Shadow."

Shadow's glow dimmed quickly, and his quills relaxed, becoming their normal state. His eyes opened, giving a nod of affirmation to Tails.

"Okay, ready…" Tails murmured, concentrating on the door "Aim… FIRE!"

_PSHZZZZZ…BOOOM!_

The charging noise from the gun roared louder, before shooting a large red beam of hot energy to the door, creating a mega explosion. Smoke covered the entrance for a while, then cleared, showing a burnt hole and the interior of the base. All the robots had sizzled to melted metal, moulding with the floor.

Tails whooped in victory, satisfied with the results before him. Cream's eyes had dilated from the explosion, hands covering her mouth. Even Shadow was slightly shocked from the power. _How much power does that weapon store… _He pondered, slightly concerned. If that was from one emerald, imagine what the energy of _two _of them can do, or even _seven_! It sounded like a death gun.

Shaking out of his thoughts, he said "I'm going straight through the middle passage." Before speeding away with his rocket shoes.

Tails and Cream watch him leave, then turning to each other. Tails put his hands on her shoulders, giving her a serious look. "Cream, I am giving you the most technical job, so you need to listen. I want you to go through the vents up at top, then use your communicator to find the power room. Unwire any sort of electrical device that looks as if it can be used for weaponry, then run towards the main room, got it?" He explained firmly.

Cream nodded, giving Tails a kiss on the cheek "Take care of yourself." She whispered lovingly, running towards the entrance also. Tails watched as she jumped up and went inside a vent. He sighed nervously, hoping it all will go well.

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

_BOOM! CRASH! BANG!_

Shadow fought his way forwards, showing no mercy to whatever robot came in his path. They were red, and shaped like an egg with arms and legs. He ducked as they fired their bullets, then swiped their feet, causing them to fall. His boot stomped on their metallic faces, seeing the mini shocks of electricity escape the broken wired. Piece of cake. Shadow smirked coldly at the scrap metal surrounding him.

"This is like taking candy from a baby…" He murmured deeply, sceptically looking around the walls "There must be something more."

Suddenly, the heavy footsteps rumbled in front, reaching the hedgehog's ears. He slowly turned his head to the pathway. It was huge. It was armed. And it was coming for him. Shadow's eyebrow raised slightly, inspecting the robot slowly walking towards him. It wasn't much different to the others he just faced, but it had red glowing eyes, narrowed furiously towards him. Its hands were attacked to thick springs. Its belly had three holes going down the centre like a snowman. And its legs were fat and strong, looking harder to break through.

The robot stormed through the path, but stopped once it was at a fair distance. It stared. Its eyes were focused on its prey, but Shadow only smirked back.

"I wonder what you're hiding…" Shadow said, watching it's every move. Abruptly, the three holes down its centre opened up, replaced by missiles. One by one, they all shot out, homing on Shadow. Yet Shadow only watched, unmoving. His smirk never left his face once, not even wither. The missiles came hard and fast towards him, only just metres away. They all lined up perfectly on their target. With only centimetres away…! _BOOM!_

Black smoke erupted in front of the machine, blocking its vision. It waited for the results. When the smoke cleared, there was a large crater produced by the aftermath. Though there was no body inside. The robot had won. Having no trace or sight of Shadow, it turned around to go and find other intruders.

Only to get a massive blow straight in the belly; and it was strong. It repelled back about three feet, then rolled onto its back. It was powerless, and couldn't detect the moving mark, panicking to identify it. It shook violently on its back, trying to get up before the enemy attacks. Side to side, it frantically tried to get on its feet. It was all too late. The black hedgehog appeared above its face, smiling sinisterly. He raised his fist, pulling it so far back for the fatal blow.

Bad mistake.

The robot took its chance to target him again, and used its left hand to change into a bullet shooter. The red metal went on a frenzy, hysterically shooting the bullets at astounding speed, hoping to hit the impossible. It _was _impossible. Somehow, it got to record one footage of the hedgehog going from one place to another, but it looked as if it _teleported_. Whilst shooting, it slowed down the recording, studying the speed again. That time it did see the living being move, but was still fast in the replay. In fact, he was travelling at _unbearable _speeds. After calculating the speed and time, it got the data. The living male was travelling, at the speed of _light_.

Calculating how it was so possible, it still shot around it, defending itself on its back. Meanwhile, Shadow was flawlessly dodging all the shots, using the chaos emerald to his advantage. Duck, weave and dive, Shadow tried to get closer to the machine. Nevertheless, there seemed to be no clear passage to get close enough. And it looked as if the robot's bullet supply was not going to end soon. Although Shadow noticed one thing; the robot wasn't struggling. It was just shooting randomly at its surrounding, not trying to get on its face.

It was then it all clicked. The android wasn't fighting, it was _researching_. It was taking down data and calculating information. Most likely, that info would go straight to Eggman once it had enough.

"So it's just a research robot with weapons…" Shadow growled to himself "Damn! It's gonna find out about the chaos emerald!" Shadow didn't need that. Who knows what Eggman would do to get an emerald he could reach. Secretly, he took his right hand behind his back. Soon after, a ball of lightning started to form, growing larger the more seconds passed. Shortly, an orb of electric bolts was formed, fully powered and ready to be thrown.

"Chaos..." Shadow roared violently, quickly swinging his hand back around in front. The ball had moulded into a sharp spear, ready to pierce the robot to scrap. "SPEAR!"

The dark hedgehog let go of the lightning bolt, watching (and still dodging) it soar across the air towards the firing machine.

The robot had almost found the answer. He was discovering an object in the black hedgehog's hand. It was… it was red! It shined so bright and looked like a gem. Studying its data, it concentrated on the image formed on its screen, oblivious to the bolt coming towards him. It was… It was called a… a Chaos-!

_BOOM!_

Shadow finally stopped his dodging, gracefully landing on the fried metal below him. The bolt went straight through the robot's head, exploding it along with the rest of its body. Whether it delivered the identity to Eggman, he didn't know. But he wasn't going to find out if he stayed there.

Taking a turn to glory, he glided off, closer towards Eggman's hiding.

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

"Wow, it's so tight in here…"Cream whined, slithering in the vents. The ceiling was so close, she could go on her knees, so she had to use her arm strength to get through. The communicator was at her aid, navigating her towards the power station. "I wonder how Miles and Mr. Shadow are doing. I hope they didn't get hurt…"

A scent reached her nose. She sniffed curiously. She blocked her nose with her hand and cringed. "Eww, what is that smell?" The stench was strange, but not the good kind. It smelt like fried old metal mixed with rotten eggs. Cream clenched her nose harder. The closer she got, the more it reeked. Until she got to a vent gate. Her eyes met the bright screen. She was on top of her destination. She made it to the power station!

She crawled a bit further, making sure her feet were above the gate. Then she kicked it roughly until it broke and fell to the steel surface. She pushed herself out of the hole, hanging herself with her hands on the edge. Chocolate hues examined the room. It looked technical and futuristic, with noises of working engines blasting through her ears. There were many human-sized capsules, stored with pre-made robots in dormant form. Then, near the door of the room, there were many levers with text below each one. Checking for any traps, she scanned the room's floor.

Of course, there were the classic sensor lasers spread across the floor. The rabbit rolled her eyes, amused at the lame trap. "I knew this would happen. Good thing I took one of Miles's laser guns before I left." She took a silver pistol out of her pocket, and tried to detect the culprit for the lasers. Finding the machines, she easily shot each one, nailing them head on and smashing them to pieces. Once all the traps had been demolished, she safely jumped down on the floor. Scanning slightly, she paced herself towards the switches. They all served a different purpose. Though the ones she needed were 'Egg-bots', 'Sentry guns' and 'Egg-Traps'.

Cream shook her head in mock disappointment, clicking her tongue in the process. "To think that, for a super smart genius, Eggman wouldn't actually make the controls so _easy _to get." She casually shot the three levers down, sighing to herself. "I guess that's Eggman, huh… Anyway, I must find Miles or Mr. Shadow."

She was about to exit the door, until two egg-bots had come into the room, spotting her. They put a hand out in front of them. The hand had replaced itself with holes, where the eternal bullets would shoot through. Nonetheless, the sneaky rabbit had escaped their sights, one way or another. Cautiously scanning the room, their heads moved from side to side slowly.

_CLANG!_

The robot on the left reacted to the noise, rotating to see the offender. It didn't sense any unusual placement in the line of sight. However, it did notice that one of its allies had been smashed right through the stomach, with a hole in the shape of a small foot. It seemed as if its ally had been-.

_CLANG!_

The robot had immediately shutdown, crashing towards the ground on top of its partner. The culprit had dusted off her hands and smiled innocently at the lifeless robots. "Wow, you surely did surprise me. I'm sorry about having to hurt you." She giggled, walking out the door in solid victory.

Only to fall on her backside. Wincing in slight pain, she rubbed her bottom soothingly whilst finding what had caused it. Her eyes rapidly widened, gasping at who she saw before her. As her lips formed a smile, a gloved hand came into her view, inviting to take hers. She took it without hesitation, and instantly hugged the male when she got up.

"Mr. Knuckles!" She greeted happily "What are you going here? How is Miss Rouge?"

Knuckles, still in Cream's grip, awkwardly patted her back. He looked around for a second, then looked back at her –well, her head. "I'm here to help with the mission, but I guess you, Tails and Shadow have already done that. I got here only a few minutes ago. And Rouge is… well… she's awake at least."

Cream responded with a frown. But did not reply.

"Anyway, we better get going, huh? Tails and Shadow are probably wondering where you are."

The cream rabbit nodded, before walking with Knuckles to the right direction. It was silent, for a while, but not awkward nor uncomfortable for them at all. But Cream was in a deep thought, wondering if she should ask the big question to Knuckles.

Finally deciding, she looked down, keeping her eyes on the ground whilst walking. "Mr. Knuckles," She asked timidly, catching his attention "Do you agree with Miles?"

The echidna was quiet, still slowly pacing towards the main area. Cream thought she asked a bad question, or it was a bad time to answer. She started to muster out an apology, crossing her hands in front of her in panic "O-Oh don't worry! You don't have to answer it I was just curious and-!"

She then felt a rough but light weight on her head. She looked up to inspect it, seeing that it was a large hand that belonged to the red echidna himself. Her eyes stared at him in surprised, but was shocked to see what was on his face. A gentle smile. It looked more amused then anything, but gentle nonetheless. It had been years since she saw that smile. It was the same time as when Amy-.

Her mind paused, inwardly shaking away the distasteful memories. "Mr…Knuckles?" She stuttered, still looking up at him in wonder. He chuckled lightly. His head raised slightly from laughter. His hand ruffled in the hair growing between her ears.

"It's okay, kiddo," He spoke softly, "Tails has gotten his _darling _worried, huh?"

The floor suddenly seemed to be interesting to Cream.

"It-It's not that!" She got so flustered whenever anyone teases about her devotion to Tails.

Knuckles smirked, then looked ahead "I only can believe him so much…"

Cream's ears twitched slightly, hearing his soft words. She looked up at him in question.

"I do believe him when he says she's not on our side. But I don't believe him when he says that she is working with Eggman. For some reason, I feel that she is taking her own side, and lives for herself. Just like Shadow used to." explained Knuckles "But that doesn't mean you don't try to help Tails, even if you don't believe him."

The young rabbit's lips were slightly open, gaping at how wise Knuckles had just sounded. That wasn't Knuckles… was it? Then her lips formed a cute grin. Well, whatever it was, she was just glad that she and Knuckles thought the same way about her boyfriend.

The pair started to walk again, this time with some mutual understanding. Not long, a random question popped up in Cream's head, making her curious. She took a look at Knuckles, also seeing him in some thought as he looked ahead. He never really showed his wise side to anyone; anyone but her. It was most likely because the rest would tease him about it, so he would contain it. But with her, she would always appreciate guidance from anyone, even Knuckles.

"Do you ever want children?" Cream suddenly asked, then inwardly giggled at Knuckle's expected reaction. His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed, showing embarrassment to the spoken question. His head instantly turned to the smiling rabbit, who was sweetly bashing her eyelids at him.

"W-what?!" He replied, astonished at the sudden question.

"I was just wondering…" She dragged on, looking at the wall beside her. She pondered about his actions in the past, adding them up. "I mean, you sound like you would be a good father. And you always gave me advice when I was so small so I just thought you would want to be a daddy someday..."

"W-w-well…" The red echidna stuttered, his blush becoming the colour of his fur "I-it's not that I would _want _kids as much as you think I do. But I wouldn't _mind _if I had some..."

"So you do!" Cream's eyes sparkled in happiness "And you are at such a good age too! Why not ask Miss Rouge for one?"

"T-That's not how it works…"

"Sure it does! You just go up to Miss Rouge and say 'Hey sweetie, let's have a baby'!"

"Oh gaia…"

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

"Miles, Mr. Shadow!" Cream waved, watching as Tails and Shadow waited at a metal door.

"Cream!" Tails sighed in relief, then saw someone next to her "Knuckles? When did you get here? What about Rouge?"

"A while ago." Knuckles replied "And Rouge is awake with Vanilla."

"Bout time you showed up, huh?" Shadow spoke, smirking.

"Save it for later, Batman." The echidna remarked.

"Alright guys, it's time to face Eggman once again." Tails declared, grinning to the rest of the group. The rest nodded, whilst Shadow got himself into position. He raised a fist just beside his face, and with a loud cry, he punched the metal door down. The dent in the door made the bolts come loose, smashing it down forward. Immediately, they saw the large man in a black chair working on something at the front. The bald man heard the crash, and raised his head up at alarming speeds. His blue glasses shined in the bright light in the room, whilst pointing at the group near the door. His eyebrows narrowed in fury as his mouth frowned in outrage.

"What are you pesky animals doing in my base?!" He fumed, slowly standing from his chair. "I'll have you know that I am working on something, and it doesn't need your input."

"Save it for later, Eggman." Shadow said bluntly, walking inside the room. It was extremely large, with the ceiling being at around hundred feet high. It stank of powered engine, hence the black tube machines behind him pumping furiously. "We came to ask a few questions about the Pink Angel."

"Oh?" The human egg raised a brow "So you come in here, shutdown my robots, destroy my research bot just for some _question_?"

"Yeah, and if you don't comply," Knuckles put his right fist in his left hand, a threatening glare not leaving his face. "You don't wanna know."

"For as long as I have known you all, I know you wouldn't try to physically hurt me with your own hands. Besides, why would I tell you something that can ruin my plans-?"

"Look," The yellow fox was quickly pacing towards him, a furious glower appearing "I am not kidding around here when we said we wanted answers. So you better give them to me or else!" He was then right in front of where Eggman was, seeing some sweat falling from Eggman's head.

"Miles, don't!" Cream cried out, shocked at his actions. But Knuckles and Shadow also walked towards Eggman, looking as if they were to murder him.

"Now listen here, Egghead," Tails said calmly "I would like to know, if you are working with the Pink Angel, and where she is right now."

There was a thick silence in the area, not one of them either moving or speaking. The male trio were glaring down the bald man, whilst he just gave them a puzzled but anxious look.

"Wait," Eggman sounded slightly puzzled, pointing a finger at the trio "She's not working with you?"

"What do you mean 'she's not working with you'?!" Tails hissed, but backed away a little from him. "Why would you think that?!"

"Well," He looked up to the spacious ceiling, stoking his delicate moustache in thought "The last time I saw her, she was talking with Sonic I believe."

All four of them had gasp at what they heard, eyes wide at the answer. _S-Sonic? With the Pink Angel? No… that cannot be true!_

"This was after the time I came to Station Square too." Eggman continued, also stunned at their response "When I saw them, they were having a fight of some sort, but it looked more playful then serious. So I thought they were training just to try and defeat me again (like I would let that happen!)."

As soon as Tails heard more, he gave Eggman a shocked but angry gaze. "You cannot be serious, right? There is no way Sonic would be with her! He never told me!"

"Ask him yourself."

Somehow, those three words dawned on him. He never asked Sonic about her, neither ask if he saw her. The only reason for that was because he thought she was gone after the night of meeting Knuckles. But she then appears later having victory over Eggman, and then attacking Rouge. He thought she was a threat. He thought Sonic wouldn't want to see her. He thought she hurt him _enough _about mentioning Amy.

"Fine." He growled, contacting Sonic on his communicator. It took a while for someone to answer, but a face appeared on the screen. The blue hedgehog was somewhere outside, making Tails assume it was at Amy's grave. However, he did notice how Sonic's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his lips formed a small frown too. "Y'ellow?"

"Sonic, it's Tails" He replied curtly. Something told him that he interrupted something serious… But what?

"Yo Tails," Sonic greeted, "How's Rouge coming along?"

…No. Actually, Sonic greeted whilst _his eyes looked somewhere to the side_… or _someone in particular_.

_Don't you dare act secretive on me! _Tails thought heatedly, but also depressed. To think that Sonic, his _best friend _would keep a secret from him… "She's fine," He just wanted to get straight to the point "I just need you to answer some tuff, we haven't got much time…"

"Tails, are you in Eggman's base?!"

_Oh brother…_ "Sonic, now is not the time! Just answer this: Have you seen the Pink Angel recently?"

Next minute, it was quiet. The fox could hear the pumping of engines in front of him, mixing with the slight breeze behind Sonic in the communicator. That's how quiet it was. No voices would interrupt nor speak at the very moment. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand gently grasp his left, jumping him out of his trance. His head turned into the side, seeing Cream's eyes full of pity, but reassured him with a gentle nod. Tails gave her a slight grin, and turned to the monitor, seeing Sonic also looking back. Sonic was dazed. Sonic's eyes were not focused. He wasn't looking at _him_.

"No."

Tails paused for a moment, then turned his head to Shadow and Knuckles. With a nod, they all stepped back from Eggman, giving him his personal space back. He got his answer, and probably knew it all along. But as if just to act – just in case – he gave Sonic a pointed look "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

…_Beeep…_

Tails looked at the blank screen for a moment, before bowing his head to the ground and turning it off. He closed his eyes in misery.

"He was lying." Shadow finally said, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I know." Tails answered, monotone. All of them decided not to speak about it further and, instead of saying anything to Eggman, they all turned to walk out the door.

"I believe I have been of good service." Eggman suddenly said, freezing the walking four. It was not until Tails spoke again, that they all started to make an exit from the base.

"Trust me, you have been _more than _enough help."

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

The cobalt blue hedgehog had arrived home as the sun began to set, but was shocked to find that Tails was not home just yet. Shrugging it off (and taking off his shoes), he walked towards the living room, finding it in the same state as it normally was. The floor was neat, the TV was off, and the brown couch always looked inviting. He jumped into the couch, instantly snuggling himself against the soft fabric to get comfortable. He laid on his side, with both feet propped up on the armrests. He reached for the remote on the coffee table, turning it on.

"I wonder what the news has in store for me today…" He mumbled to himself, changing it to the right channel. The screen showed a pink cat in a professional outfit, her yellow eyes focusing on the camera. She looked as if she was in a museum of some sort, with a podium missing an object.

_There had been a robbery at the Station Square Museum, where a green Chaos Emerald had been stolen a few nights ago. The Chaos Emerald has yet to be found, but there has been no trace of evidence anywhere but spits of blood on the floor next to the podium. There have been DNA scans on the blood and it had been traced to belong to a G.U.N member called Rouge the Bat._

"Woah, wait what?!" Sonic gasped, sitting straight and leaning towards the screen. He saw an image of Rouge as a member of G.U.N as a group photo, then blood on the floor in the museum. "Why would Rouge be there? Why would she be attacked? Unless…"

_"__She was in my way-!"_

He clicked his fingers in realisation, figuring out the missing clue "So the Pink Angel attacked her for the Chaos Emerald. But the main question is… why would she need it?"

Before he could answer his own question, he heard the front door slam rather roughly. His head turn rapidly towards the entrance of the living room, seeing Tails standing there with a _way beyond _grumpy frown on his face. His eyebrows were narrowed harshly, with his arms crossed in front of him tightly.

Tails was _not _happy.

Sonic gulped, worried about what had made Tails upset. _Why would he be upset?_ But then he remembered that he had lied to Tails earlier. _Did he figure out…? Who am I kidding, of course he would know! _He inwardly punched himself in the head for thinking that he could lie his way into safety to his _best friend_. _BEST FRIEND _for Gaia's sake.

After some silence, and the noise still going on from the Box, Tails finally lost some tension running through his body, and took off his gadget belt and goggles, leaving it on the floor where he was standing. He then walked to the armchair next to the sofa, and got himself comfortable in it. His eyes landed on Sonic's position after he took deep breaths in and out.

Sonic knew what that meant; they were going to go into some sort of deep discussion about something. And knowing about earlier events, it wasn't rocket science.

"Sonic," Tails whispered. It was silent; almost sad... _desperate_. Sonic gave him a concerned look, wondering if something happened at Eggman's base. Or if, this was something _he _caused.

Tails looked broken. His eyes glaring but having a specific somber shine that said otherwise. His hands started to shake slightly. His body was stiff, looking uncomfortable and as if Tails didn't want to be here; as if he _didn't _want to talk to him. This lead Sonic to a series of questions running through his head. Guilt was rushing through his veins. His eyes stared back Tails, wishing to know what he was thinking.

"Sonic... What's going _on_?"

* * *

**EDIT: If you read the end, you would see a change of scene and a change of Tails then the last time I wrote him. This time he is more sad then angry. The reason why I did this is because I felt that Tails would never act as angry as I wrote him before. And because this is one of the _first _time he doesn't know what's going on, he would feel more worthless then enraged. As if he doesn't serve a purpose in the team. So, you will see a difference in the teaser below.**

**Sorry that I changed it suddenly, but please try to understand my reasoning.**** _ I'll try to not do this again!**

**I'm sorry about the Eggman scene and all, for some reason, I had some massive writers block and went blank in what to do. Haha...**

**I always thought that Cream and Knuckles would have a heart to heart moment now and again, and that Knuckles would secretly always want to have children. Why? I don't really know. But he acts so tough on the outside, that whenever the innocent Cream comes along, he would always have a soft spot for her. I hope it was cute.**

**Well there is nothing more to say unless you include, see you in the next chapter. ****_Confessions of a Sinner._**

**_TEASER:_**

_"Sonic..." Tails muffled, hiding his face down and covering it with his hands. Sonic hesitantly walked towards him, seeing any sign of disagreement from him. "Sonic... you trust me, right?"_

_"Of course I do, buddy!" Sonic almost shouted, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion. Where was this going? He took another step forward, reaching out a comforting hand to his shoulder. But before his hand could rest there, his eyes widened. He gasped inwardly at what he saw, to his shock and horror. His had retreated swiftly, followed by frantic stomping of reversing feet._

_"Why didn't you tell me all this...?" He whispered - no, begged. His head slowly raised to meet Sonic, showing him what he's been hiding for this whole time._

_Tears._

_Tears fell to the ground from the fox. The fact hit him like a wrecking ball. He made Tails cry._


	8. Chapter 6: Confessions from a Sinner

**Well hello again, guys! How ya'll tonight…today… or whenever you're reading. I was trying to finish this before school started, but I had a case of the writer's block, and had to rephrase a few bits here and there. Sorry! Also again, I****'m sorry for the changes in the last bit of the last chapter,**** but I promise that it's for a reason! Without further ado (a-do? Ad-do? You know what I mean), let's begin! Oh, and I have replied to your lovely comments at the bottom. Thank you for commenting by the way!**

* * *

"Sonic…What's going on?"

Silence soon came after. The two didn't move, neither speak. They only stared at each other, trying to understand the other; trying to figure out what was going on in each other's mind. Only to just stare at a blank space; a plain gaze; just… nothing.

However, even though Tails couldn't see anything from Sonic's eyes, he only had one evidence that gave him some idea of what was going on. Sonic met the Pink Angel. And it was after the fight with Eggman too. So, if that was the case…

Could they have known each other _before_?

Tails's eyes widened in realisation. If that were to be true… then it could mean that Sonic has kept this secret for not only a few days, but even more then that! It could be weeks, or even _months_ that they've known each other. There was even the possibility that Sonic and the Pink Angel made a setup of the whole fight with Eggman, to make it seem as if Sonic had no idea about her when he actually _knew _her! Was that why Sonic acted cocky about what the Pink Angel said to Knuckles? Is that why he told a lie earlier? Is that why-?!

Tails inwardly slapped himself, snapping out of his thoughts. He rubbed his temple with a defeated look, not even bothering to notice Sonic's reactions. This is why he hated to not know what's going on. It drove him crazy! Especially when his best friend and _brother _figure was keeping him out of the loop. It was like his weak spot. He _despised _it. Slowly clearing his thoughts again, his eyes landed on Sonic, seeing him looking concerned from his previous behaviour.

"Sonic," Tails sighed dejectedly "Please tell me what's going on…"

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, slowly getting out of his seat. He crouched a little to level with Tails. Tails looked at him for a second, before closing his eyes and shaking his head. A wobbly breath escaped him.

"…What secrets have you been hiding?"

"Tails-"

"When did you meet her?

"Tails, look-"

"Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"Tails, I-"

"_What is going on_?!" The yellow fox yelled suddenly, jumping Sonic back a bit and fall to the floor. Sonic's eyes enlarged abruptly at the yell, seeing the fox stand from his armchair and glare angrily into his eyes. Tails was panting heavily from the roar with his mind going crazy from all the questions he wanted answered. However, after grasping the fact he shouted at Sonic, he immediately tilted his face down to look at the ground; hidden from Sonic. So were his emotions.

Sonic would only just gaze upon Tails, still in shock from the shout, His heart was a running engine, banging loudly into his ears. Sweat was dripping down his muzzle. His body was static on the red surface, a meter away from the fox. Silence had been welcomed again.

After a full minute of silence, Sonic had finally composed himself from the unexpected events, comfortably standing on his two feet, and looking straight at Tails. Tails looked up. Blue hues dully observed the hedgehog. It was then, when Sonic said in confidence.

"I'll tell you."

In confusion, Tails mumbled "What…?"

"I'll tell you about everything that has happened, and try to clear your head."

Tails slowly blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Then, he gave a quick nod and sat back in his armchair, making himself comfortable. Sonic kneeled down in front of him, making sure to stay at eye-level.

"Well," Sonic began "It was after that fight with Eggman, and that I said I was going for a run. I was coming back here at night, until suddenly, I was ambushed." He looked up to the ceiling, trying to remember the events. "She pushed me up against the wall, and said something about us being the same. Being slightly angry at what she did, I started to fight her. Soon after that, we both heard this wolf being chased down by a fake policeman. So we kinda helped each other to stop him. She then told me to go home and… I guess she hated me for some reason." He paused and looked at Tails, trying to see any reaction from him. All he saw was that Tails was more shocked than anything else.

"After that, I didn't really see her. Not until today. After you told me you were going to Cream, I went to the graveyard to put the engagement ring onto Amy's grave. I saw her again, and started to talk to her again-"

"Even after I told you what she did to Rouge and Knuckles?" Tails spoke suddenly, receiving a stained look.

"I… actually confronted her about it."

"…I see."

"Yeah…" Sonic awkwardly agreed "Anyway… Like I said, I saw her again. I asked about the wolf and how she was doing, and she said how she was okay. When I told her how I was worried, she suddenly got angry again. She said things about me not caring for citizens and comparing it to things I did in the past…" His mouth curved to a wistful smile, his eyes becoming half-lidded, looking guilty.

"She started to yammer about how I used to be like, three years ago. How I wasn't the hero three years ago. How I was just lazy and never came out of my room. And… how-," He took a deep breath "-How Amy was gone."

Sonic stopped his description to see how Tails was taking all of this in. Tails showed nothing. He just stared at Sonic, waiting for him patiently to continue. Though, that was his way of him taking it all in. He just sat there. Unmoving, expressionless, lifeless. But somehow, his blue eyes was delving deeper into the blue hedgehog's mind more than ever. It was as if he was skinning him alive, just to reveal his secrets. That thought alone sent a shiver up his spine.

Sonic let out a hefty cough, already fidgeting from the shredding stares. "W-well anyway, I got pretty angry at her, and started to confront her. I told her how she attacked two of the citizens; Knuckles and Rouge. She told me she had reasons, but I said she had no excuse. Long story short, she was about to tell me why but something stopped her. Then she told me that she had said "too much", and that she will take my place forever.

That was when I lost it.

I told her what you did earlier on because of her, and how it sounded as if it was my fault. I said how I was enraged at her, and that she told me too little. We got into an argument. Then you called. I basically lied to you, then she told me some final words, we became rivals and BAM! She was gone!"

After telling his long story, he let out a tired sigh then a struggled laugh. His throat hurt -surprise, surprise- but he had so much more to say. He just wanted to blurt out every detail that he missed within the last part of his explanation. It was obvious he did, anyway. The way his speech picked up speed, sounding as if he was rambling on and on. However, even if Sonic wanted to say those _crucial _points… what could he say? That him and the Pinky used to have a playful relationship? That he somehow wanted to keep Pinky safe? That he was kinda-sorta-maybe-but-may-not be _infatuated_ with Pinky? (He's even got a nickname for her, Gaia's sake!)

Thinking about that last question, Sonic instantly shook his head from thinking anymore. He didn't want images of her again to come up in his mind. It was too much. He just got over it. He didn't want it to be back and all over again. However…

Sonic's eyes wondered to Tails, almost forgetting he was in the room. All he could hear was the sound of the TV rolling on with the news. Something about… a storm tomorrow night. Otherwise, it was motionless. No one would dared to speak.

Suddenly, Tails stood up. Sonic jumped abruptly. Then, he shuffled back a little and also stood on his feet, turning the TV off in the process. When his eyes focused back on the twin-tailed fox, they widened slightly. Tails's face was towards ground, looking like a lifeless puppet. Sonic just stood there, frozen. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words would come out. It was just like a fish. Maybe he should go and comfort him…But…

"Sonic..." Tails muffled, hiding his face down and covering it with his hands. Sonic hesitantly walked towards him, seeing any sign of disagreement from him. "Sonic... you trust me, right?"

"Of course I do, buddy!" Sonic almost shouted, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion. Where was this going? He took another step forward, reaching out a comforting hand to his shoulder. But before his hand could rest there, his eyes widened. He gasped inwardly at what he saw, to his shock and horror. His had retreated swiftly, followed by frantic stomping of reversing feet.

"Why didn't you tell me all this...?" He whispered - no, _begged_. His head slowly raised to meet Sonic, showing him what he'd been hiding for the whole time.

Tears.

Tears fell to the ground from the fox. The fact hit him like a wrecking ball. He made Tails cry.

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

Meanwhile, on top of a city apartment building, Amy was pondering to herself. She was deep in thought. Everything that happened today, didn't add up; she was at the graveyard, thinking to herself; Sonic shows up; He puts a small box down next to her "grave"; they played around, then argued; Tails called; Sonic lied; Sonic became a little dark and finally, they became rivals.

When thinking about it as a whole… it still didn't make any sense. What her main question was though, was _why_. Why did she share a lot of information? Why did Tails want to know about her? Why did Sonic _lie _about her? Why was it that he suddenly wanted to become rivals? No matter how many times she repeated these questions in her head, it still didn't make total sense.

Amy looked at her right hand, the one she shook with. She clenched slightly, before relaxing it. She did this process a few times, then looking back at the city below. "He gripped my hand so hard… it really did hurt. I guess that's what he means when he's in business. Yet… it looked as if he was trying to figure something out." She murmured to herself. "Maybe he's trying to see how good I actually am. Or maybe…" She gasped abruptly "Has he figured out that I'm Amy? Does he know?"

She then shook her head, chuckling to herself "If he were to find out, he'd act different. He'd probably ask where I've been, and get so angry."

After a while of reminiscing, Amy stretched out her arms and yawned a little, feeling tiny droplets of tears at the corner of her eyes. She wiped them groggily, saying "Maybe I should get some proper sleep, it seems no crime is going on at the momen-."

Her ears suddenly twitched, picking up the faint sound of a crying child. Her head swiftly turned back, her senses back in action. She quickly stood up, forgetting about her tiredness, and sprinted towards the noise. It wasn't far. In fact, it was just about half a mile up ahead. Her feet leapt up, jumping high above the first building, landing on the second one, then the third, and so on. Until she finally got to the place. She narrowed her eyes towards the ground, trying to detect where the noise was coming from. It was faint, but sounded like an infant nonetheless. That was when she saw a small male red fox on the ground, wailing whilst looking for something. _Probably his mother_ Amy thought, instantly going down to him. When she landed in front of him, she crouched down and held her hand out to her.

The child seemed to have noticed her, turning his wails into tiny sniffles. His eyelids opened slightly, revealing big yellow eyes, looking scared and anxious at her. Pink Angel smiled softly, bringing one of her hands towards his furry white muzzle.

"Ah!" The boy squeaked, trying to shuffle away from her. Her hand instantly retreated, her smile widening out of pity. _This boy must be so scared…_

"Don't worry," She cooed gently, slowly reaching her hand out again. "Don't you know me? It's the Pink Angel, see?"

The boy hesitantly looked up at her, scanning her features. He recognised her, but still didn't want her to come any closer. Amy pondered about what she should do, and how to calm the boy's nerves. "Maybe I should…" She whispered to herself, but faltered. If she were to follow her plan, it would be quite risky. She had to not be seen so that her identity isn't revealed. However, the city always has lights around them, so the chances of getting caught is pretty even. But…

"Hey, do you wanna know what I look like?" Amy spoke to the quivering infant, earning a curious glance "Would that make you feel better?" The boy looked at her for a second, before asking timidly "Really?"

"Yeah! Then you can tell me your name, and then we'll go to the police station to tell your mama and papa. Does that sound good?" The fox instantly nodded eagerly at the hedgehog, excited to know her true identity. "But promise you won't tell anyone, okay?" The fox nodded again, a smile plastered on his face.

_Alright, here goes nothing…_ Amy thought, as she carefully lifted her hood off.

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

He made Tails cry. Tears were shed from the fox because of him. _Sonic _made Tails cry. No matter how many times Sonic said it in his head, it would never sink in. He only stared at Tails and Tails helplessly let the tears fall from his glassy eyes. _Please stop… _Sonic begged inwardly, watching every drop fall from the other's face. _Please stop crying… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you…_

"Sonic," The fox boy whimpered "For three years, I was here for you. I was always trying to help you as much as I can during those three years. I had to lead the team in a way when _you _were not there. I had the decency to help you for three years, so you could finally realise that she's gone!" That struck a nerve "I've done so much for you, just for you to be yourself, and _you _repay _me _with lies! Why don't you tell me anything?!"

"Tails I-!"

"I want you to know that I'm there for you. I want you to know that you have a shoulder to lean on. I want you to know that you can express your worries and troubles to me. Because that's what best friends do; what _brothers _do!

Why are you keeping this away from me? Why didn't you tell me the times you had the chance? Why did you _blatantly _lie in front of me?! What's even worse was that it was in front of Eggman, too! Do you know how _embarrassing _that was for me?!"

"Tails, if you would just listen!" Sonic finally exclaimed, silencing the frustrated fox. "Look. I know I've been a pain for three years. And I know I haven't been the same old hedgehog you all know and love. But when Amy left, a part of _me _left. It hurt, Tails. That day when we discovered she had gone missing, I instantly sprinted out to find her. I couldn't just accept that she was gone and give up; I had to find her! And if I didn't find her that day, I would start again, and again. I just… couldn't let her go.

I _loved _ Amy. It was too much to think that she… she… went to a place I couldn't follow."

Sonic's voice quivered at the end, trying to stop the tears from falling. But when he looked at Tails, he saw the rivers fall endlessly from his eyes. The fox wasn't trying to hide them. Instead, he embraced the fact he was crying. He wasn't going to just hide the tears from Sonic. He wanted Sonic to know how he was feeling; _broken_.

"Don't you think all of us suffered?" Tails asked audibly. The question alerted Sonic from his emotional state. "I can't believe that you were thinking about yourself all this time, and your feelings."

Tails walked closer towards him, his eyes furiously looking at him. "We were all suffering, Sonic; It wasn't just you! We all loved her too, and we all lost a part of ourselves! Poor Cream balled her eyes out, wailing for her amazing, awesome, kind and loving sister to come back!

But you know what? We suffered _together_. All of us, but _you_! We made the plans and preparations for her funeral. We picked out all those flowers. We even wrote _speeches _for her, and how much we cared for her! _You _however, just turned up at the funeral, and left as soon as it finished. Then you had the decency to act fine, and not tell us anything! You selfish prick!"

As soon as Tails finished his speech, he panted harshly; looking at Sonic with tears of anger and disbelief. Sonic took every word he said as a knife to the heart, killing him internally. His ears drooped back, eyes looking to the ground in guilt. Even if he didn't mean it, it was all true… Sonic knew it was all true…

"You know what the worst part is?" Tails suddenly whispered, also looking away "You're still lying to me. It doesn't take a genius to know that you rushed that last part. It's not rocket science to know that you're still hiding something _important _to me. So stop insulting my intelligence, and tell me what it is."

The room was quiet. Neither said a word, nor looked at each other in the eye. They both just looked to the ground, anticipating what the other would say. The cries of 'Now it's your chance!' or 'Just tell him!' was circling around Sonic's head. But his lips never opened once. His body was shivering, just ready to run out of there as soon as he could.

When Tails realised he wasn't going to say anything soon, he let out a spiteful chuckle. "I need to lie down." He mumbled "Call Cream up and tell her I'm not up for the date tomorrow."

"Tails, wait!" Sonic abruptly shouted, noticing Tails flinch. "I…I-!" No words would come out. He just couldn't say anything.

"Goodnight Sonic." Tails said in a monotone, not even glancing at Sonic. He slowly turned, walking sombrely towards the door. When he reached it, he stopped, turning his head to the side. "You know… The Pink Angel was right…" One of his eyes finally looked at the guilty hedgehog, giving him a hard, cold stare. "This was all your fault."

He left the room, not forgetting to turn off the light; leaving Sonic in the darkness.

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

Amy fully lifted the hood off her head, showing her real identity to the fox. She still had the beautiful emerald hues, shining since she was a child. But her quills had gotten much longer, all bunched up at the inside of her open hood. Her face was more mature, and made her look more feminine than when she was sixteen. However, what stood out most on her face, was the scar that slashed across her right eye. It was large and very nasty, running from the top part of her eye, all the way down to her muzzle. But it looked as if it had been there for some time, as it had healed over.

The boy stared at the scar anxiously, wondering what could have caused such a scar like that.

Amy showed a tiny smile to the child, feeling slightly self-conscious. To know that she had just revealed herself, was quite a shock. Even if it was just a small fox.

"Would you like to tell me your name now?" She asked softly, bringing a hand out to him. He looked at it hesitantly, before accepting the hand. "Vivian." He whispered shyly. Amy led him to stand up with her, then took him up in her arms. As she did that, her quills had fallen out of the hood, landing around her mid-back. His eyes sparkled in wonder, seeing how much of a pretty lady she was (sans the scar).

"Okay, Vivian." She smiled, "I've gotta put up my hood now, because I need to be a secret. You won't tell anyone about this, right?"

"I promise!" Vivian saluted, looking like a small soldier. Amy giggled whilst holding him in one arm, bunching her quills up in the other hand. Once it was all in her hood again, she lifted it up, hiding her identity again. She suddenly felt the conscious feeling go away, to her relief.

"Vivian, hold onto my neck tightly." She ordered kindly, to which he obliged. "I am going to go really fast now. So you better hold on tightly!"

"Is it Sonic fast?" He asked, causing Amy to involuntarily jump. Flashbacks of the past came up, especially the times she got to be carried by him and go at full speed. The nostalgic feeling rushed through her body, remembering the thrilling days they were. She frowned bitterly, inwardly punching herself for remembering.

"Yeah," She replied softly, worrying the child again "I guess you could say that."

After a few moments of silence, she suddenly jumped out of the alley way, alerting the child in fright. He closed his eyes firmly, tightening his grip on her neck. The more he got used to the speed, the lighter his grip got (only slightly). He peeked with one eye, then widened both his eyes in amazement. The city almost looked as if it was a blur, but still slow enough to see everything. Everything looked so tiny from above, but the lights illuminated the streets like the tiny stars in the sky. There were even a few other colours below, and even though they were scarce, they still made the city colourful.

As Amy jumped from building to building, she saw the look of astonishment on the boy's face. She smiled softly, having an encore of the memories of her past. She instantly shook her head, trying not to delve back into the images. _I can't go back now… I don't want to._

Subsequently, they reached above the police station right in the centre of Station Square. Amy jumped in front of it, making sure the child was okay. Vivian beamed at the Pink Angel, laughing jubilantly from his first experience. "That was _so cool_!" He cheered joyously "Do you get to do that every day? It was so awesome! I hope I get to be as cool as you _and _Sonic one day, Pink Angel!"

"Hold up!" She giggled, flicking his button nose playfully "_You _need to take things slow until you're an adult. Go to school, play with friends, and work hard before you make your decision. This is hard work you know!"

"But it's so awesome!" He giggled, forgetting about his shyness earlier. They entered the police station. Coincidentally, Amy saw a yellow fox weeping to a police officer, who was trying his best to take down notes. When Vivian saw her, his smile became wider, recognising the woman. "Mummy!"

The lady gasped, turning her head swiftly towards the voice. Her eyes enlarged in shock, then cried more in relief. She ran towards her son, arms open wide. "Oh Vivian! Vivian! There you are!"

The boy also had tears at the corners of his eyes, reaching out for his mum. She grabbed him under the arms and hugged him tightly towards her. She was happy to be reunited again; happy to see her son. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She repeated over and over, sobbing her apologies in his ear.

Amy smiled at the reunion, watching the emotions fly. She looked towards the bulldog officer, who was also looking at her. He gave her a thankful nod and a small salute, receiving a small nod also. She then turned to the family again and suddenly remembered who the woman was. "Hey…" She said audibly, "I recognise you."

"Oh my…" The lady also realised who Amy was "Pink Angel! Oh Gaia, I get to meet you again! You saved the nights ago, remember?"

"Ah, yes!" Amy replied, giggling afterwards. "Your family needs to stop getting in trouble."

"Haha! Yes." She laughed also "By the way, my name is Jessica. And I thank you for saving my son, and me the last time we met.

"It's no problem. I've just gotta do what I gotta do, that's all!" Amy didn't realise she quoted Sonic on the phrase. "An officer is taking you home, right?"

"Nope, Joseph, my husband, is waiting in the car for me to tell him the news. He'll be so happy that Vivian has been found and safe! I thank you again, Pink Angel!"

"Thank you, Pink Angel!" Vivian also said, his eyes half-lidded from tiredness. Jessica put his head on her chest, caressing his head in a nurturing way. "It was awesome…!"

"I hope we don't cause you anymore trouble, Pink Angel," Jessica whispered, getting her son to sleep. "We've caused you too much."

"Like I said, it was no trouble. I just hope you have a nice night, Jessica. I'll see you some other day!" Amy waved at the two, walking out the station. She then swiftly turned a corner, darting out of the centre before the cameras came. It took her seconds to find a small narrow footpath, leading to another direction on her left. She briefly checked it out, before walking to it. "Looks deserted enough…" She whispered to herself, seeing no other mobians. Double checking her surroundings, she looked behind herself and saw no one following her.

When she got in there far enough, she looked at her right wrist. There, lied a tiny wrist band, keeping a small circular gadget (slightly out with a bump) in place. She tapped it. The machine glowed into a bright, neon light blue. Suddenly, white lights flowed out of it, flying around in front of her. When enough were out, they all clashed together, forming a blinding light. Amy put an arm in front of her face, shielding her from the bright light. Then, after a few seconds, she looked at the spiraling oval in wonder. After a few seconds, the spiral started to fade out, replacing with an image of a familiar place.

Sighing in relief, she slowly walked into the portal, entering another dimension. However, she did not notice the shadowy male figure from a distance, watching her the whole time. It smirked, then grinned darkly at the disappearing portal. "So she can dimension jump, huh? I wonder what else she can do…"

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

"I'm back!" Amy greeted, taking the hood off her head. She saw a silver hedgehog, floating up in the air in a meditating position, eyes closed. He opened his eyes a little, then widened them when he saw who came back. His cream muzzle showed a welcoming grin.

"Amy!" He welcomed, falling gracefully from the air. He walked towards her, arms out for a hug. "It's been a week since we saw you! Why you didn't come sooner?"

"Been busy." She answered, giving Silver a grateful hug. "I'm guessing Blaze is gonna kill me when she sees me, huh?"

"You sure bet she will." They both laughed a bit, before Silver got slightly serious. "How's the… you know…"

"The curse?" Amy finished for him, pointing to the slashed eye. "Well, as you can see, it's gotten a little larger. But it hasn't been hurting or bleeding for a while, so I guess it's all good."

"Still, you need to show the healers about it; I'm sure they would like to hear about its progress."

The pink hedgehog hummed in agreement, looking elsewhere. She randomly asked, "By the way, where _is _Blaze?"

"She's having a meeting with Sol right now, which was why I was standing-,"

"Floating." Amy chirped

"Yeah, _floating _near the doors to the emeralds. She told me to guard it, so that no intruders disturb her."

"Ah, you're being useful and productive, for once?" Amy teased, winking at the slightly flushed hedgehog.

"For your _information_, I am the Leader of the Solius Union Government, and her highness's Royal Guard. So yes, I am _productive _and most certainly _useful_! Hmph!" He huffed, crossing his arms and turning away from her. Amy giggled at his attitude, half-heartedly apologising for her insult.

That was when they heard the door behind Silver open, revealing a purple cat in all her royal beauty. She was wearing a thick neck-strapped dress that was fitting till the waist, and slightly expanded below the band to the floor. The top was a gold strap around the neck, with a red ruby at the cleavage. Then the top half was plain purple, until it arrived to a yellow sash around her waist. The bottom half had the purple fabric all around the back, but split at the front, seeing the white cloth under it also. She also wore a gold hairband that replaced the red one, and her white gloves.

When her sharp yellow eyes caught sight of the pink hedgehog, she unintentionally let out a relieved smile. But as quick as it came, it went, replaced with a furious frown. She was _not_ happy. "Amy Rose! Where have you been all this time?!" The cat stopped towards her at a swift pace (minding to not trip on her dress).

"Um, hey Princess Blaze." Amy awkwardly chuckled, scratching the back of her head. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"A week!" Blaze remarked, "You have been gone, with no communication or some sort of message, for a _week_!"

"Well, if you say it enough times, it doesn't really sound like a lot…-."

"Do you know how _worried _I was when you were gone? You said you were to be back in two days –three days max- but instead, you took your time there! Especially with the curse we are trying to find a cure for on your eye! When you go there tomorrow, I will make _sure _you keep in contact with us!"

"Blaze, calm down…" Silver said slowly, secretly terrified of her anger. He hated it when she was angry, because she sometimes couldn't control the things she says. If she were to say anything about the curse…

"It's okay Silver," Amy said, giving him a quick smile, before kneeling in front of the princess in a formal manner. "My apologies, your highness. If there would be some way for you to forgive me, I will have it done in a second."

Blaze stared at her for a second, before sighing deeply. "Rise, Amy." She ordered, to which Amy obliged. The cat suddenly hugged her, pulling her as tightly towards her as she could. It took a moment for Amy to register, but she also gladly returned the hug. "Just please… Don't scare me like that. You're like a younger sister to me, and I would hate to see you hurt because of my carelessness."

"I promise, Blaze." Amy replied, guilt spreading through her body.

"And please. Don't be so formal. You know I hate it…"

* * *

**Introducing Blaze and Silver! Yippe! For everyone who wants to know their ages, both Blaze and Silver are 21 (Blaze is only older than Silver by a few days, so they tend to celebrate their birthdays at the same time anyway). As far as I know, Blaze's world/kingdom, hasn't officially got a name. So I kinda just made it up at the top of my head. Does 'Solius' sound cool? Hope so! Btw, I hope you get where the quote of 'I just gotta do what I gotta do, that's all!' (I think it was 'A hedgehog's gotta do what a hedgehog's gotta do' but I'm not sure)**

* * *

_**Thank you to:**_

_**Jowy's Pixie:**_** Yep, Sonic was in for it, haha! I hope this chapter wasn't too... I guess, confusing? boring? But yeah, Tails had an argument with him. The teaser had changed a little, sorry for that. However, yes, I can imagine how embarrassing it would be.**

_**SAgotogether:**_** Oh, one of them will find out soon. Do you wanna guess who it is? Glad you find it interesting too!**

_**Errui:**_** I'm so so so glad you love it so much! I've always imagined that Cream would try to fend for herself when she's older, so I made her a strong rabbit! I hope this chapter kinda gives you an idea as to why Tails has matured in that way, if not, more chapters will go in depth about it.**

_**CashCash:**_** Actually... I have an idea in my head how he's gonna find out. And trust me... it'll be good!**

* * *

**Teaser (Tears and Curses):**

_"Hey Cream," Sonic then said. When he heard a slight hum from the other line, he continued "Let's hang out for today... just you and me."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, just like a brother and sister thing. Nothing serious. We haven't talked for ages anyway..." He swore he heard some sniffles on the other side. When he was about to ask what was wrong, Cream replied softly:_

_"Yes; I would love that."_


	9. Chapter 7: Tears and Curses

**I am back, back again! So sorry for how long this took, but I hope this was worth the wait!**

* * *

Sonic looked terrible.

His quills were messed up and he had dark circles under his eyes. He looked dreadfully disheartened.

That could pretty much sum up how he was feeling right now; he felt disheartened. He knew what he did was wrong. He knew that Tails would never trust him again after that. He _knew _all the consequences that would happen when he lied!

So what in his _right mind _made him do wrong?

The question lingered in his head for the night, not letting him get a wink of sleep. He was tired, yes. But he was more forlorn then anything, maybe even wistful in some areas. Sonic felt as if a part of him has been broken… just like when Amy left…

_I can't believe it… _Sonic thought to himself _First, I lost a loved one. And now I've lost a best friend… I can't believe this is happening._

Then, the misty air cleared as the sun began to rise on the edge. The rays ended up reaching the window and into Sonic's eyes, making him wince harshly. After getting used to the annoying beams, he groggily got off the rusty sofa and stretched out his tense muscles. It didn't feel good; he didn't feel relaxed.

The blue hedgehog sighed, desolate on what to do next. Nothing was working, so he might as well stay inside and relax-.

"Cream!" He abruptly spoke. His brain inwardly scolded him for not telling her last night. Now she must be getting ready for the non-existent date!

Sonic sighed again, not feeling very well that morning. Why is everything going downhill? Why couldn't Sonic just move on from Amy sooner? If he did, none of these awkward encounters, depressing events and horrible arguments would have happened! None of these events would have _occurred_.

…

He just wished she never left…

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

_Run. That's all she could do; run._

_Her movements were frantic as she darted through the forest under the bright moonlight. Her red dress was tattered from all the spikey branches and twigs tearing at it, followed by the nasty red marks, oozing out fresh blood, on her knees and… well anywhere really. Hot, fresh tears poured out of her frightened eyes, her emerald hues darting left to right in search of an escape. A sweet freedom._

_She couldn't._

_"__Come back here, little girl!" A man roared behind her, right on her tail. The girl could tell he was closing in on her. His voice was like death to her ears. He was death. She was going to die._

_"__I don't wanna die…I don't wanna die…" She sobbed under her breath, hanging on to every ounce of strength she had to carry on. Her knees burned from how long she had been running, and it would only burn more if she continued. But she was not going to take any chances. If she was going to escape the man trying to hunt her down, she may as well try to run away. "I don't wanna die… I don't wanna die!"_

_"__You troublesome child, you better come back and accept your punishment!" _

_"__No!" She screamed, not daring to look back at him. The monstrous man sneered at her, then charged towards her at full speed. Her blood boiled as she sprinted faster than she had in her life. It was as if she was running the same speed as… __**him**__. For once, she thanked __**him **__for helping her get the speed and stamina to make it this far._

_But it wasn't enough…_

_CRACK!_

_"__AAAH!" The sixteen year old cried out – in shock and horror – when she found herself moving towards the ground. What's worse was that it was down a rocky hill. She closed her eyes, wrapping her naked arms with her hands for – little –protection. Her head collided with the ground, instantly bashing against sharp thorns, causing her muddy muzzle to get a large scar. She then rolled. It all happened so fast. All she knew was when she stopped rolling, she was hanging onto little life. Everywhere on her fragile body had scars, bruises and oozing cuts. Rivers of blood poured from her skin, flowing down to the bottom of the forest surface._

_She couldn't move._

_Her vision was clouding with darkness. The eyelids were starting to droop. Her – once sparkling emerald – eyes were turning blunt, losing sight. She remembered the last thing she saw, was a red hedgehog stopping in front of her body, panting wildly from the run. He then smirked cruelly at her life-clinging soul, almost finding the situation humorous._

_"__My my, Amelia…" He whispered darkly, slowly bringing a hand down to her right eye, "You can sure run for so long."_

**_No…_**_Amelia thought weakly, but her body never moved. __**Please… leave me alone…**_

_"__Nevertheless, you can never run away from the curses. You should know that, daughter…"_

**_No… please… leave me alone…_**

_"__I will make sure that beating heart of yours will still go, whilst the aching pain lasts forever… Amelia Rose…"_

**_No…_**

_"__Well now, go to sleep… Amelia Rose…" He caressed her bloody quills from her face, then placed his hand on her right eye again._

**_No…_**

_"__Goodnight, my sweet, little, precious daughter…"_

**_NOO!_**

_A bloodcurdling scream erupted the whole forest. Then… It all went silent._

Amy screamed as she sat up straight, sweat forming on her face. It was only a nightmare. Or rather, a past horror.

She abruptly winced, her right hand going over her right eye. It stung quite a bit. When the stinging sensation faded, she lifted her hand off her eye.

Red. Red came from her eye. She started to panic when she saw the pure blood on her bare hands. Reaching out on the side coffee table, she took the white cotton buds, bandages and white medical eye patch from it. To tend to the scar, she gently cleaned the wound with the cotton bud and wrapped her right eye in the clean bandages. She then placed the white eye patch on top to keep it in place.

A tired sigh came from the pink hedgehog. But, somehow, she felt that she couldn't go to sleep again. "Awh well…" She shrugged, jumping out of the bed (with red blankets). She slowly stood up, stretching out her muscles. Then she went towards the drawers to take out some clothes. She pulled out a simple red t-shirt and some black tracksuit bottoms.

It took some minutes for her to get ready, before she left her room to the main hall. She saw a familiar grey rabbit and red cat walk towards her. "Hey Snowbell, Cherri. What's the matter?"

"Hello Amelia," The grey one, Snowbell, greeted. She gave Amy her best smile, but as quick as it came, it left. Her smile was replaced with a concerned frown. "Has your eye been troubling you again?"

"The usual." Amy replied.

"Zis is strange," Cherri muttered; her accent clearly shown "Zit wasn't long ago when ze scar started to open and bleed again. I wonder why zis is happening all of a sudden…"

"We mustn't dwell on it too much, Cherri," Snowbell replied "As long as Amelia is mostly in good health, it means it must be just a minor issue."

"Still, we may need to get this checked." Amy said, pointing to the right eye "Like Cherri said, it wasn't long ago since it opened up last time. Only two months ago, I think. And please, Snowbell, call me Amy. You know I hate Amelia."

"We can get it checked." Snowbell responded, then winked playfully at Amy "But I cannot follow your other suggestion, _Amelia_."

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

"So you see," Sonic said, finishing his explanation "Tails told me to tell you that there will be no date today. Sorry 'bout that."

"Ah, I see." Cream's gentle voice came from the phone, "It's okay; it can always be scheduled another day if it needs to be."

There was a slight pause, before Cream continued "Mr. Sonic, whatever Tails said that was bad, it's not true. He was just angry, frustrated and upset so he said those and-!"

"Cream, I get it." Sonic replied, almost bitterly "He had to express his feeling sometime soon…" _Though it is true, isn't it? Even you can't confess… _"But I'm fine with it, really…"

"Okay…" She doubtfully said. He could tell she didn't believe him, along with all the other stupid lies he's told. Only Gaia knew how many had been said those three years. To be honest, Sonic didn't really feel like living at the moment and talking to Cream was making his feelings worse. He wasn't there for Cream – no – _anyone _in those years. He sucked at being a hero.

Though, now that he thought about it, it wasn't as if it was all over for him. Maybe this was the time to change things around; to start anew.

"Hey Cream," Sonic then said. When he heard a slight hum from the other line, he continued "Let's hang out for today... just you and me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, just like a brother and sister thing. Nothing serious. We haven't talked for ages anyway..." He swore he heard some sniffles on the other side. When he was about to ask what was wrong, Cream replied softly:

"Yes; I would love that."

_Maybe I can make things right… _He thought to himself, suddenly shining at the imaginary light. "So, we can meet up at the ice-cream parlour you've always like since you were young; _Parlour Paradise_, right?" He teased.

"Y-yeah, that would be nice." He smiled when he heard her childish stutter on the other side, just knowing how much she was blushing. "Could we meet about midday? I got to finish some baking with mother, then shop for a few things so…"

"That's more than fine, Cream," Sonic chuckled, "Besides, I gotta freshin' up to see you after so long. Trust me, you don't wanna see what I look like right now."

"Mr. Sonic…" Her happy voice wavered slightly, feeling slightly concerned for what he said "You are looking after yourself, right? I don't wanna see you looking in any way unhealthy, okay?"

"I'm fine Cream, I promise; I promise with vanilla ice-cream with chocolate sprinkles and a sweet, round, juicy cherry on top. Okay?"

"Hmmm…." She didn't sound totally convinced "Well, that's if you're sure… then okay…"

"Right, then I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, see you!"

"Bye." The male finally hung up the phone, staring at it for a while in surprise. Did he just talk to Cream? After so long? He could tell it was so long because she sounded so feminine and mature, even when she was only sixteen and a bit. He could also tell that she was coping well with Amy's passing; more than he ever did...

_"__You know… The Pink Angel was right…This was all your fault."_

"It was, wasn't it," He said with a bitter smile, remembering Tails's words. "All of this, Amy's passing, Cream's crying, Tails's confusion... That was all my fault, right? Well, even though I wasn't there before, I'll make sure I'm here now. I'll make sure I'm the hero I once was three years ago. I will be Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"…Whoo! That phone call got me all speechy all of a sudden!" He chuckled, bashfully scratching his messy quills. "Guess I should go and have a-." He paused, realising the death trap set for him next "A…A sh-sh-shower… Awh man." Don't get him wrong, it wasn't as if he hated to be clean and such, but he just didn't like getting wet, or water in general. The only thing that was an exception was drinking water, because he needs that to _survive_. Everything else he was bound to hate.

Well, Sonic supposed that he should get over his hydrophobia someday… "Better have a wash then…"

Dreadful spits of water later, Sonic exited the shower and shook his quills from the droplets of water absorbed in his quills. His body trembled from the horror of the shower, almost whimpering from that familiar experience. However, he was grown up and a hero, so they should never show their weakness, hydrophobic or not. _Who am I kidding, it was awful! _He cried to himself, also checking his appearance in the mirror. He looked damp, yes, but better nonetheless. His quills were slicker, and he looked cleaner in general; not the previous insomniac-mess look. "Guess this should cover this morning…" Sonic mumbled. On the other hand, the black bags under his eyes still were there, pointing out his lack of sleep. Nevertheless, he's done the best he could do, only hoping that Cream wouldn't question about it.

The blue hedgehog sighed. He knew that Cream wouldn't do that; she would always be concerned for everyone. It was just a habit of hers. Just like Amy's…

Shaking away the remorseful thoughts, Sonic walked out of the bathroom and went upstairs to Tails's room, proceeding to knock on the white door. Abruptly, his hand stopped midway from knocking, his mind haltering his movements. He thought for a minute, pondering if he really should disturb Tails after the row they had last night. After some more thinking, he decided against it, repelling his hand from the door and walking back downstairs. _Maybe I should give him some space… after all… the argument was my fault. Like everything else._

Determining to not dwell on the subject any longer, Sonic went to the front door and put on his white socks laying on the ground. Then he comfortably put his shoes on and moved his feet around to make sure they were on properly. Once satisfied, he opened the door –earning the breeze of fresh air- and closed it. He breathed softly, closing his eyes whilst enjoying the calm breeze on his damp spikes. Nevertheless, he _certainly _didn't want to stay in front of the house for so long, so he instantly ran away from the house. Sonic didn't know where he was going, but he never did in the past, anyways. That was the _excitement _of it.

What Sonic didn't know, was that as soon as he was about to leave the house, a young fox slowly opened his door, peeking outside hesitantly. He saw Sonic's shadow outside his door, and regretfully wished for him to knock the door, so that Tails could come out. He just wanted to make up for last night; for saying horrible comments that he didn't mean; for being rude when he tried to explain; for looking down on him when he mourned for those past three years. Tails longed to say sorry.

Yet, the knock never came. Instead, he saw the shadow slowly walk away from the door. The fox heard the slow taps along the stairs; getting gentler as they disappeared. Tails thought for a second whether he should call out for him and say sorry, or if he should just stay in his dark room for comfort. It took him a while, but he chose the former, suddenly throwing the covers off himself and charging to the door. And there he was now, looking out shyly to see if Sonic was going to leave. _I can't just wait here for him to leave, he might do it any second!_

"Soni-!" Just as he was about to call him, he heard the front door shut. His voice froze, eyes widening in realisation. Despite the shameful truth, Tails let out a soft smile. "He was always too fast for me anyways…"

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

Amy was patiently seated on her bed (with her eyes closed) whilst the old owl healer was inspecting her eye. The white owl placed her hand on the bandaged eye, then closed her eyes. Her hand soon began to become a blinding neon blue light, rotating around the scarred eye like a circle in a loop. Tolerantly, Amy said nothing as she let the healer do her task. The only thing Amy was worried about was if the healer would find something major about the cursed scar.

After a while, the striking light faded, and the white owl gently took her hand away. Amy immediately opened her eyes. She gave Amy a kind smile, earning a questioned look. "It's all fine, Amy dear," She croaked, her old age showing "Even though it has reopened quite quickly, the curse is still at bay, and it shouldn't open until a while. Just make sure you take emergency bandages with you if it were to bleed again."

"Thank you, Mrs. White." Amy grinned, removing the bandages from the eye. Mrs. White waved at her, before leaving her room and shutting the door. But as quick as the door shut, it opened again, revealing a silver hedgehog. He closed the door behind him, walking towards Amy with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay, Amy?" Silver spoke softly, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled nonetheless.

"I'm fine Silver," Amy breathed "It only bled a little this morning, and now it's gotten better."

"But still…"

"Trust me, _Sir Silver_, I'm all good." She gave him a fake salute with a playful wink, earning a childish pout.

"Hey… stop making fun of my rank…" He whined, crossing his arms with a huff. There was silence for a second, then they both started laughing. And once they started laughing, they couldn't stop. It was just all too _silly _not to laugh about! The giggles continued until they heard a small creak at the door, where they tried to calm down and wipe their tears away. Blaze's head poked through the door.

"Hey." Blaze said, raising a brow at the two. "What were you guys laughing at?"

"Nothing, really." Silver replied, "Did Sol say anything?"

"Not really."

"Oh." Silver could see through her lies. Whether Amy could also, he didn't know. She didn't really looked like she saw through it… "Well I guess you'll have to try again some other time…"

"Yeah." Blaze decided to enter the room fully, closing the entrance behind her. She walked up to Amy and inspected her scar, asking "How were the results?"

"She said it's all good but to bring some stuff with me in case it happens again. Though it should regulate now."

"Mrs. White is one of the best healers here, so whatever she says should mostly be correct. However…" The male hedgehog mumbled under his breath, trailing off. "It makes me wonder why it bled today…"

"I guess the curse just awakened at that very moment. Perhaps it was near some sort of powerful source?" Amy pondered loudly. Then she gasped. _Could it be? No… the chaos emerald would not just trigger the curse like that... _She glanced at the wall opposite her, seeing the green emerald, hanging and shining its sacred beauty. "Well, whatever it is, I'll be sure that it doesn't happen again. I promise."

"Well, Blaze and I should get going to the meeting now. And I am guessing you're going to go back to Mobius once again?"

"Yeah, I'm planning to."

"No."

"What? Blaze you can't just-!"

"No, Amy. That curse of yours just opened out of nowhere! We don't know how it did and why it happened so soon! You can't just go prancing around Mobius and fighting enemies whilst we try to figure out what triggered it, who knows what might happen! What if it gets more common over time? What if it never stops bleeding? So, just this once, _stay _here and _rest_; it is way too dangerous to go to the other world now."

"Blaze, you cannot just keep me here and trap me just because of _one _occurrence. It's not fair!"

"I would rather keep you trapped here so I know where you are, than over there where you could be on the other side of the map!"

"But you can't-!"

"Just do what I say!" Blaze snapped at Amy, her furious gaze burning into her soul. It scared Silver; he's never seen Blaze so… _angry _before. It was almost as if she was trying to set Amy on fire with her eyes (she probably was, too…).

Though, Amy knew that Blaze was only worried for her. It was her fault for arguing about following her rules anyway. So she bowed her head slightly, replying "Yes, your highness." She felt Blaze flinch at the formality in her voice, but said nothing nevertheless. She beckoned Silver to follow her, walking out of Amy's room quietly.

* * *

Despite the order Blaze gave her, Amy smirked rebelliously to herself, getting up from her bed. She slowly walked towards the long, rectangular mirror near the green light from the emerald. Her hands gently took the black garments that rested on it, the smug smirk widening. "I'm sorry, Blaze. But I don't follow the rules."

They walked silently towards the corridors, slowly pacing towards their destination in a formal posture. Everyone in the hallway would catch them passing, bowing respectfully at the princess. On the outside, Blaze kept showing them a smile, but on the inside, she was extremely annoyed at how proper they were acting. She _hated _all the bows, she _hated _all the "Highness"'s and "Majesty"'s, and she especially _hated _the freedom that was snatched away from her. Ever since Sonic left her dimension, Solius went into chaos. The world discovered where the Jewel Sceptre was located, and they suddenly became bloodthirsty with greed. They all wanted that power.

So what did her kingdom do? They begged her to take the throne. And knowing how much danger was coming ahead of them, Blaze had no option than to agree. Fortunately, for some reason, no wars were arranged when she became princess, but they still planned ahead; just in case. So here she was, walking into _another _meeting about troops and strategies. It was all too much!

_If only my parents were here to help… _She thought sorrowfully.

Meanwhile, Silver was watching Blaze the whole time. He could tell behind her façade that she was stressed about something, and the talk she had with Sol must have made it worse. Which reminded him…

"What did Sol really say, Blaze?"

"W-What?" Blaze stuttered, glancing at her best friend.

"What did she say?" He repeated in a monotone.

"I-I told you Silver, didn't I? She didn't really say anything!"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you are hiding something." That was when he fully looked at her, showing how serious he was about the issue. Blaze inwardly gasped, surprised at the sternness he showed through his voice. It was so… _unnatural_. He was always the cheeky, childish, naïve hedgehog he was born to be. But now… it wasn't as if it was Silver anymore.

When Silver heard no response, he stopped walking, causing Blaze to stop too. He continued "Blaze, I know you more than you think I do. In fact, I probably know you more than you know yourself! So you can't hide anything from me. I think of Amy as my sister, and I'm sure you do too. Besides, Amy is our main priority right now; her and that disgusting curse she carries on her face! And I can't figure out anything if you are keeping secrets from me. So please, stop whatever is telling you to hold back and _tell me_."

Blaze was shocked. Never had she heard Silver become so serious, yet so logical at the same time. He was right, though. Blaze couldn't just keep secrets from him and expect him to let it go. Amy was also - as he said - their main priority, hence him knowing the truth would help to form a plan quicker. Yet, what Sol said wasn't really going to get them any further to a solution… But…

"…I wasn't lying when I said not really," Blaze finally spoke "But she did tell me how to get rid of the curse. You see, no healer can actually take it away. Neither do remedies nor other healing techniques work. What we need to do is destroy the vessel that put it on her."

"Then that's easy, we just find the person who did it and… oh…"

"That's right. We have to _kill_ whoever put the curse on her. Silver, we have to kill a _being_; a _breathing person_. And to be frank, I do think I would be able to even do that. Sure we've killed monsters, demons and any other mythical being. But a _person_? I just don't think we can…"

"So… the curse on Amy's face-?"

"If we don't kill the vessel, it would stay on her face forever. And what's worse is that it will _get_ worse over time. It might just be a few drips here and there right now, but Sol said the more it stays on, the more random the scar opens. And the closer she is to the vessel, the more blood will ooze out."

Silver could not believe what he was hearing. Certainly, he wants the calamity, Amy burdens, to go. Yet, he didn't want to kill anyone. The solution was just bittersweet; the curse would go but the guilt of terminating a life would stay. However, if this is for Amy, he would try anything to help her. Even if slaughter would lighten her shoulders. "Blaze, if we would have to go to such extent to help her, I will do it for you."

Blaze grinned gently at the hedgehog. He sensed her secret adoration and admiration for him, which caused his cheeks to turn slightly pink. Silent affection would come rare from Blaze, but when she does it, it always made his heart flutter.

Blaze then placed her hands on his cheeks, earning a nervous stare. "You're so naïve…" She whispered lovingly, reaching up slightly to place a tender peck on his cheek. When she pulled back, she giggled at how red his cheeks had become. "But that's what I love about you."

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

"Mr. Sonic!" Cream called out from the street, a bright smile on her face. It had been so long since she last properly saw him, so this felt like a first time to her. Nevertheless, she was ecstatic to finally speak to him.

Sonic, on the other hand, felt suddenly nervous. He went to a field to calm his mind for a bit, then ran back and walked on the street. Seemed like the field and fresh air did nothing for him; his nerves were all over the place! As his feet paced towards the rabbit, he felt all fidgety on the inside. _No! _He screamed to himself, _I am not running away after planning this for her!_

When he finally got to where Cream was waving, he gave her his trademark wink as a greeting, receiving a cute giggle back. His nerves vanished. The moment Cream laughed, all the anxiety bubbling within him had gone, as if she cured him. Abruptly, he felt more confident with himself, chuckling with her. "Glad to see you again, Cream."

Sonic noticed how different she was since she was thirteen. She had gotten remarkably taller, only being a head shorter than him, and started to have more of a lady figure than being skinny. Hair started to grow between her ears as well, followed by her face being less round. Cream was wearing a white blouse and an orange skirt reaching to her knees, accompanied by brown knee length boots. "My, haven't you grown."

"Girls do become ladies sometime, Mr. Sonic." She giggled again, automatically earning a smile back. The two walked into Parlour Paradise, seeing the original parlour still looking the same. They had purple walls with a blue and purple checker floor. The tables were white and had either seating booths or plain white chairs around it. Many mobians had crowded round, hanging out with others and enjoying their delicious ice-cream.

"Hello! Welcome to Parlour Paradise!" A female red squirrel greeted them.

"Table for two, please!" Sonic asked. The squirrel then walked them towards a booth near the front at the windows, and gave them a menu.

"The menu also includes today's special, and other deserts you desire to have." She explained, "We will serve you in a few minutes." She then left, leaving Sonic and Cream to their own conversation. Or… silence perhaps. Neither of them spoke, or knew _what _to speak about anyway. Sonic just stared blankly out the window, whilst Cream sadly looked onward at the others laughing or simply chatting.

Trying to start a conversation, Cream asked "So, how are you, Mr. Sonic?"

"Been better. You?"

"I'm alright…" She sighed, knowing this won't get anywhere. _Maybe this wasn't really a good idea…_ She inwardly cried. Even if it was a good idea, what was there to actually _say_? She couldn't bring up Tails because they had a fight; she couldn't bring up life because of Amy; she couldn't bring up _Amy_ because of Amy; she couldn't even bring up the Pink Angel because there is something going on between them which is what Tails and Sonic fought about _last night_!

So, in conclusion, she was stuck. But she wanted to talk about something so bad! She was so desperate that she wanted to just talk about anything, even if it had to be-!

"Shadow!" She blurted out, then instantly covered her mouth. Sonic slightly jumped from the sudden name, giving her a puzzled look.

"Shadow?" He raised a brow "What about him?"

Cream had never been so embarrassed in her life (mainly because she's never needed to do something like that ever!). But despite the random proclamation, she inwardly rejoiced about _finally _finding out something to talk about.

Trying to settle down her rosy cheeks, she replied "Have you talked to him recently?"

"Nope."

"Have you seen him recently?"

"Not really."

"Do you want to do either?"

"Probably not."

…Wow. Cream puffed her cheeks out childishly, crossing her arms and looking out the window in a huff. _He's not even trying to make a conversation!_ She screamed silently, slowly dying from how awkward the atmosphere was. It was so thick, she could probably cut it with a chainsaw! Or even smash it with a sledgehammer. The silence was killing her!

Fortunately, a male white rabbit came over with a notepad and pen, giving the two of them a polite smile. "Are you ready to order?"

"I sure am!" Sonic cheerfully answered, shocking the poor cream rabbit. It was as if another character just came to life, and nothing happened before. It made her wonder why he was so moody when it was just them two…

"Maybe it's because of me…?" She whispered to herself, dreading to think that was the truth. Though it looked like that was the case anyway. And if so, what did she do?

"Miss?" The waiter leaned down slightly towards her, jumping her out from her thoughts. She squealed a little, banging her head onto the glass window in the process. Cream winced and rubbed the sore spot on her head. "Are you okay?!" Both the hedgehog and rabbit asked, awfully concerned from her behaviour.

Cream tried to hide the tears of downright humiliation, murmuring "I'm fine."

"…So what would you like to order?"

"Um, may I have a chocolate and vanilla cup with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and a cherry on top please?"

"Sure. Would you like some ice with that?"

"Ice?"

"For your head."

"Oh! No… no need."

"Okay. Well I'll come back with your order soon." The white rabbit gave a lingering glance at Cream, then slowly walked away from the table.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Sonic examined her head from the other side of the table, worriedly saying "You must be more careful, Cream. I dunno what was going on inside your head, but it must have been serious for you to jump like that… Care to share?"

Cream didn't bother to look at him, still mortified at the event. "Nothing really…" She mumbled under her breath. Sonic barely caught what she said.

"Cream, I'm sure it's not "nothing". What were you thinking about?"

Now if it was Miles asking her the same question with the same attitude earlier, she would have sarcastically replied _"Well wouldn't you like to know…"_, but because it was Sonic (and she hadn't seen him forever), she decided to be mature enough to tell him the truth. "Well, you were ignoring me earlier, so I was wondering if I was the reason for that."

When Sonic didn't reply to her statement, she pressed "Am I the reason, Mr. Sonic?"

He remained quiet. It scared her. Sonic didn't even make any eye-contact; he seemed to just stare semi-consciously out the window. Why, though? Why was he so out of it? She hadn't done anything wrong, from what she thought. Maybe it happened…before…he came…

Oh, it all made sense now. She secretly smiled, finally happy that she found out what was all the trouble. But then she frowned. Miles obviously went against what she had said and upset Sonic. She _specifically_ told her troublesome boyfriend _not _to say anything sensitive. But hey, Miles probably wanted to upset him anyway because of how much isolation the fox felt for all those years.

"Mr. Sonic, what Miles said, he didn't really mean it…" She whispered, gaining his attention.

His eyes lastly looked at her, smiling with plain guilt. "You figured it out, huh? It was never about you, Cream. You never did anything wrong."

"But he didn't mean it." She repeated, sternly trying to get him to understand.

"Even if he didn't mean it. It was true; all of what he said was true. I was useless, selfish and weak back then. I realised how I left my friend behind as I gripped onto the hope I had for Amy to still be alive. But now I've figured out that it would be impossible. However, it's too late to sort things out since everyone most likely feels the same way-."

"No we don't-!" _Stop it… please…_

"Cream, I know that you also felt the same way. Last night I grasped the fact that I left you alone to cry out your sorrows, instead of being there for you."

"No, Mr. Sonic, stop-!" _No… I wanted to forget…_

"I beat myself up now because of how much of a heartless jerk I was. You were only thirteen when Amy passed away and what do I do? Leave you alone. You must have been so frightened and alone, just waiting for someone to help…"

_STOP IT!_

His voice – and others – suddenly stopped. She realised. Cream opened her eyes.

Sonic was shocked. His mouth formed a small circle, wide enough to show his surprise. His jade eyes stared at the rabbit nervously, as if knowing he was the one who set her off.

Cream then felt something moist drip down from her muzzle. She dabbed it gently with a tissue, then inspected it.

_Tears._

But they weren't just any old tears. They were remorseful, _lonely _tears. She hadn't seen them for a long time (and she certainly didn't want to see them now).

Like an old video, flashbacks played inside her head. She hated it. She wanted them to stop… _It wouldn't stop!_

"I-I," She whimpered quietly, shamefully hiding her head from staring glares "I w-wanted to f-f-forget. Everything that happened… I wanted it all to disappear!" Before jumping up and sprinting for the exit. Cream knew she couldn't outrun the fastest hedgehog alive. But – like Amy did – she could _bloody _well try!

Sonic wouldn't run after her, anyway.

* * *

_…Ding…_

-And there went Cream.

He couldn't believe it… The truth was burning his mind…

Sonic has made _two _of his friends cry; one being his _best friend_. Cream? Well, she was like a little sister to him. He had made his sister cry.

…

Sonic was the_ worst._

Whispers were rising after the seconds ticked by. The walls whinnied at his wretched state. Sonic's ears twitched at the whispers of his name.

_"Sonic made that little girl upset…"_

_"Sonic is so mean…"_

_"What did Sonic do this time?"_

The whispers were pounding in his ears, so his head started to hurt. He clenched his fists, to stay strong in front of everyone else. A hero never shows their tears, anyway-

-not when people watch.

"It was my fault again, right?" He whispered to himself, looking down at the table. "I did this again, right? I failed once more, right?"

Why is it that he couldn't just make things right again? Why does everything just go down the drain when he tries? Why did this all have to happen after Amy _died_?!

…To repair his soul, Sonic wished Amy was here. Life seemed to make _sense _when she was here, with him, in his welcoming arms. But since she passed on, the natural order seemed to – no – the natural order _was _in chaos. Yet, none of this was her fault; it was his. Guiltily, his green eyes looked to where Cream last was; she was across from his table. The poor girl, having to suffer the most when Amy left. Yet, Sonic brought up the sensitive topic like any other conversation, not realising the horror Cream felt whilst remembering the past. It's no wonder why she screamed at him!

That was when he realised: Cream must have felt isolated again, recalling the historical fright from three years ago. Meaning that Cream just needed someone to comfort her and be with her right now. From that obvious discovery, Sonic groaned, inwardly slapping himself for letting her run off. "I gotta find her and make things right…" He mumbled to himself, instantly hopping out the chair and doing what he does best; he ran.

Meanwhile, the waiter came back with the two ice-cream and an ice pack (even if she denied for one). "Here are your two ord- Hey, where did they go?"

* * *

Sonic didn't run for very long. In fact, as soon as five seconds ticked by, he crashed into the girl he was looking for – he _was _the fastest hedgehog after all. She yelped in shock, falling to the ground painfully. Sonic also ended up on the pavement. "Oh, I'm sorry- Cream!"

"Mr. Sonic?" She replied, now figuring out who she bumped into. Sonic could see the dry tear stains on her red cheeks, feeding more guilt to himself.

"Cream, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Should I take you to Tails, or Vanilla?" The blue hedgehog trailed on with many more questions, flustered in embarrassment. To his surprise, though, he heard her giggle on the ground; then laugh. "…Uh, Cream?"

"Hahaha!" She laughed, trying to get up with Sonic's aid, "It's just… It's just that you crashed into me minutes after I left, then started to become embarrassed over something so little!"

Sonic chuckled a little, bashfully scratching the back of his head "Hehe, I did, didn't I?"

"Well, I am okay, Mr. Sonic. Nothing like I experienced in the parlour that's for sure. But I came back because I realised that it was stupid of me to run away from something that happened years ago. I thought I was over…_it_… but apparently I'm not."

"It's not your fault Cream, it's mi-."

"Before you say it was your fault, I've got something to show you!" The cute rabbit cheerfully grabbed his hand, dragging him towards her destination. It took no longer than a few minutes. She took him to a bright meadow, under a massive oak tree on the top of a hill. Cream then sat down underneath it, inviting Sonic to sit next to her (which he took). They both sat down and watched the sun in the sky, coming close to evening. Sonic patiently waited for Cream to say something, yet it seemed that she wouldn't talk. So he started the conversation.

"So… why did you bring me here?" He asked bluntly, earning a giggle from Cream.

"Mr. Sonic, I don't think it's about why I brought you here, but what you actually see here."

"Well," He looked out at the area, "I see dandelions, grass, flowers…" Honestly, he thought this place was beautiful (especially the flowers) but it made no sense as to why they were actually _there_. It was even more puzzling because she acted like nothing happened just a while ago, even though they talked a little about it. "I don't really see anything else…" He glanced at Cream again, noticing the flicker of hurt in her eyes. But as soon as it came, it went. Instead, she showed a wistful smile, looking back at the giant field.

"Well, it's been a long time since we came here. So I understand why you wouldn't remember."

_Remember? Remember what? _Sonic pondered. Until he realised; he gasped, "No, it can't be."

"It is." Cream answered his thoughts, shocking him more, "This was the last time we were with Amy as a team; this was where we were about three years ago."

He remembered it all. The laughs, joy and fun; he remembered it all. It hurt. The nostalgia was frightening because it showed him just how much had actually changed since Amy was here. However, he couldn't help but let his lips curl into a smile. "I remember. This was also when Tails's ridiculous sandwich machine exploded, and we all started to laugh at him. Then Amy-," Sonic suddenly paused, taking in a shaky breath "-she told us off for laughing at his hard work, and cheered him up."

"Oh yeah! And this was when Mr. Knuckles first announced his and Miss Rouge's relationship to everyone!" She replied, laughing at the wonderful memories. But, she then stopped. Her smile turned more wistful then happy. "But... do you remember what she said when she told us off?" When Sonic shook his head, she continued "She said: 'It's not Tails's fault that the machine exploded! No one can control what cannot be stopped, especially if we never knew it was going to happen. But we should always look out for each other, and make sure we help each other in any time of need!'"

To stop the unbearable pain, Sonic clenched his chest. His heart pounded violently at his ribcage, each thump felt like a knife had stabbed through his heart. Just remembering her kind, sweet, innocent personality sent him on a frenzy of emotions; one of his emotions was simply agony.

Cream was nearly in tears. She wiped any pockets of water from her eyes, knowing that it would not help the situation to cry. Nevertheless, the water would never stop running down her cheeks, yet she stayed strong so that she could tell Sonic her main point. With unsteady breaths, she explained:

"S-so, Mr. S-Sonic. W-what I am trying to say is that…e-even though you w-w-were not with me when I-I was alone, n-none of this w-was your fault. Y-you could not h-have controlled what had happened to Amy all those years ago. So, please stop saying it is." Cream looked at Sonic, seeing him clench his fist so tight that they were violently shaking. She smiled bitterly, resting a gentle hand on top his, causing him to jump in shock. Sonic stared back at her, forgetting the tears that were handing on the corners of his eyes.

"Mr. Sonic, have you ever cried for the right reason? Sure, you have cried for Amy. But did you cry because of her passing, or because of guilt?" That question almost broke him. Every word coming out of her mouth, unravelled one layer of his inner emotions, getting him closer to let loose of his cries. Suddenly, she pulled him into a nurturing hug. To help him, she whispered:

_"It's okay to cry once in a while, Sonikku."_

Sonic gasped, his eyes the size of saucepans. That was one of Amy's famous words to him before she left; the words that would rip his heart into shreds, because she saw right through his act.

Amy would always see right through his act.

He gave up and cried. He cried –no- _wailed _Amy's name over and over, sobbing into Cream's blouse. Hearing Sonic's desperate cries made Cream shed a few tears as well.

"If you are going to cry, cry because she is not here. Don't cry because _you_ think you're the cause of it; you're not the reason why Amy is gone."

How Cream swiftly broke him down, he didn't know – nor care. The only thing on his mind was to relieve all of the pain, heartbreak and cries he had bottled up inside until now, and he was grateful for Cream to help him through it.

* * *

"Cream?"

"Yes, Mr. Sonic?"

"…Please don't tell anyone about… you know."

"I know; I won't tell anyone about you crying until the early night-time." The previous event took them all the way to night, later than Cream actually expected. "Well, I'm happy that you got to finally open up to me, today."

"Strangely enough, I am to." Sonic gave Cream a genuine smile, earning a happy grin back. Then she sighed.

"Well I guess I never got to have my ice-cream…" She pouted childishly.

Winking playfully as a reply, Sonic answered "Well I guess we would have to go out again sometime, right?"

"I don't think Miles would like the idea of that, Mr. Sonic." She teased back, ending with both of them laughing. Sonic then said "Hey, didn't I tell you _not _to call me 'Mr. Sonic' anymore?"

Cream flushed red and looked down, fining the floor suddenly interesting. "W-well it's a habit. Also, it's polite."

"You can be polite to friends without needing the formality. Sonic is just fine."

"Okay, S-s-s-sonic…" She mumbled, already slightly uncomfortable from the new change. Sonic awkwardly chuckled at her reaction, telling her she didn't need to force herself.

_BOOM! _Screams followed soon after, alerting the two. Both their eyes caught onto the big smoke in the centre of Station Square. "Cream, hop on – pun intended." Without a moment to spare, Sonic whisked Cream into his arms (receiving a high-pitched squeal) and ran towards the danger. It didn't take a genius to recognise the culprit of the disaster…

In the centre of the square, a crowd of people formed away from a giant spider robot. The spider has Eggman's logo –painted red– on the top of its main body. "_HoHoHo!_" An evil cackle came from inside, revealing the fat genius in control. On the other hand, he wasn't here to _just _destroy the square once again, but he was here for something else… or _someone _else; someone who he hadn't seen for three years, yet still lurking the city streets. Nonetheless, he kept up his 'amazing' acting skills by activating one of the arachnid's legs towards the ground, barely hitting the crowd below.

"Yo, Eggface!" The cocky hero called from below, getting an annoyed growl from the receiver. "What have you got up your sleeve this time?"

"Well, _hedgehog_," Eggman sneered Sonic's name, full of hatred, "Before you so _rudely _interrupted, I was actually trying to find someone else. I wanted to get my revenge on her."

"Who would you wanna get your revenge on expect me, huh?" Sonic smirked, pretending to think of anyone else. Well, he did have _one _person in mind… "Do ya mean the pink replica of me? Well as you can see, she's not here at the moment. May I take a message?"

"Yes, tell her that if she doesn't come out soon," _"AHHH!" _"This little girl is gonna get crushed. Sincerely, Eggman." The fat man sneered smugly at the shocked hedgehog, capturing the small rabbit in one of the spider's claw. Of all people, it had to be Cream!

Yes, it indeed _had _to be Cream, especially as she's the _former_ _best friend _of the Pink Angel.

"Let go of me, you fat oaf!" She screeched, banging her fists harshly on the strong metal. Despite the no effect it had, she did surprise the evil man for her insulting comment. Yet, it did not convince him at all to let her go. In fact, it only made him compress the claw tighter, causing her to scream in pain.

Sonic widened his eyes in horror, then glared at Eggman. "Let. Her. Go, Eggman."

"Hmm, how about?" He pressed another button.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Cream's scream sent a horrifying chill down everyone's back, causing a riot in the large crowd. Suddenly, the claw was shot by a speeding blast, making it separate from the body and fall to the ground. Before Cream fell with it, she -with her eyes closed- was rapidly taken out of the hand and up towards a roof of a short apartment building.

The rabbit slowly opened one eye to check, yet saw worried emerald eyes staring back at her. She was a pink hedgehog, having the hood of her cape over her face and a black mask covering her mouth.

"You okay, Cream?!" The masked hedgehog asked, gently laying Cream onto the surface. Cream could only nod her head, trying to remember who this female was.

"Pink…Angel?" She whispered, narrowing her eyes slightly. The Pink Angel looked familiar, but her voice sounded fairly new to Cream. Had she ever encountered her before? Wait. How did the Pink Angel even know her name? "How do you know who I am?"

The other froze, quickly trying to make up an answer in her head. "We… met at another time." Before Cream could interrogate further, Pink Angel pressed on "I'll get you down from here once I defeat the robot. But for now, just stay here," She laughed "Not that you have a choice."

"W-Wait!" Without letting Cream finish, she jumped off the side of the building, rushing towards where Sonic was fighting. Cream, however, remained flabbergasted at what just happened. "W-When have we met before?"

Meanwhile, Sonic kept running at the spider, smoothly dodging each claw that crashed onto the ground. His mind was somewhere else, though:

_The Pink Angel knows how to use the Chaos Emerald, since I sensed the energy flowing through her, but I gotta thank her for saving Cream there. I wonder if she'll even talk to me…_

He jumped jump above the robot, and smashed down onto the other front leg, causing a rough dent on it. The momentum also triggered the spider to become unstable, and crash forward onto the road. This was his chance. Sonic dashed towards Eggman one more time, and was about to hit right into the back body.

But someone else was going to do the exact same thing.

Looking to his left, Sonic saw the Pink Angel flying down at the same speed as him towards the spider. She also looked at him, catching eye-contact with each other. A fire ignited in both of them, their rivalry suddenly making the battle more serious. As they both collided with the massive monster, it jolted violently. Eggman managed to escape the robot before it exploded, creating a massive fog of black, like a signal for everyone to cheer; that included Eggman, for he got _all _the information he needed.

Celebrating his victory, Sonic waved at the crowd, earning more thanks and whistles. Then he saw the Pink Angel fall back down from a building, carrying Cream safely on her back. She walked to Sonic, gracefully letting Cream get back on her feet. "Well I gotta say, Pinky, thanks for saving Cream-"

"_YOU DID IT AGAIN!_"

"Wh-Wha?" Sonic jumped at the sudden shout from 'Pinky'. He could feel the fiery glare burning into his head, scaring him majorly. Cream, however, was still puzzled by the sudden encounter with – apparently – someone she had met before.

"Why did you _talk _to Eggman and let him take Cream!" She pointed the finger at him "I know you have the tendency to savour the hero role and all, but this is just ridiculous!"

"W-Well I didn't know he was gonna take Cream from the crowd! I thought he was just gonna brag about how awesome his spider-thingy machine was!"

"That doesn't give you the right to just _talk_ to him-!"

"Stop it!" Cream finally found her voice, silencing the argument. She humbly bowed in front of the pink hedgehog, "Thank you for saving me from the robot, Pink Angel."

"No problem, Cream. I'm just doing what I need to do." PG shook the politeness off.

"Sonic, I think I should head home now. Mom's probably going to get worried since it's late." Cream said to Sonic, earning a nod. He picked her up on his back, making sure she was comfortable. But he didn't leave without saying, "Be careful, Pink Angel. Make sure you keep your emerald safe with you; Eggman will literally do anything to get his hands on all of 'em."

"_You _don't need to tell me that." She retorted before he left, not missing the eye roll. He was her rival, after all. So he shouldn't care whether she kept her green emerald safe or not.

...So, why _did _he?

* * *

"I sense some chaos energy around here." Shadow hummed to himself, resting on the edge of Angel Island.

There was no need for him to move, though, because he felt the energy coming closer to him. That meant that someone was coming onto this island for a purpose. And he was sure it was that pink girl everyone is whispering about.

"I wonder how long the fight will last…"

* * *

**I'm actually surprised at how this chapter went. It's alright-good-ish, I guess (which is a compliment to myself since I would normally criticise my work to be horrible). But here you have it, the awaited chapter of Stronger. And oh my goodness, I bet ya'll excited about the anticipated fight between… you guessed it: Shadow and Amy! I'm even excited for it, and I'm writing it! What's even better is that they are ****_both _****gonna use the chaos emeralds. I wonder how that'll go…**

**THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME! I LOVE YOU ALL AND HAVE A COOKIE (THEY'RE CHOCOLATE)! ****_Thank you to:_**

**_Darkshadowrose2_:**** I am glad you love it and thank you! Who is that in the shadows, you ask? Well… you'll have to wait and see…**

**_Soniclover23_:**** Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy it! For your question, I don't wanna spoil it but…let's just say something will ****_most definitely_**** happen to her in the future.**

_**Jowy's Pixie**_**:** **Muahahaha! Out of nowhere! Yeah, you can definitely tell she has done ****_a lot _****in the three years. Don't worry because all will be explained in the future. Make sure you don't fall out your seat as well!**

**_Sonamylover6822_:**** I update…now! Sorry it took so long to complete. Studies can't really be an excuse but unfortunately, it is… *cries***

**Teaser (A Chaotic Battle):**

_"Chaos Control!" Shadow called out, the world slowing down around him. However, once he looked forward to the Pink Angel, he saw something that – unexpectedly – surprised him._

_She was running at a normal pace, smirking at him._

_That could only mean… "She can use Chaos Control?!"_


	10. Chapter 8: A Chaotic Battle

**Bet you didn't think this would come out so quickly, huh?! Well consider this my belated New Years gift to all of you who are reading this. And your gift to me is simply reading on, reviewing and hopefully enjoying this story.**

**Happy (belated) New Year!**

* * *

Eggman cackled to himself, getting comfortable on his spinney chair. He span himself to face the wide desk (which curled into a semi-curve) and looked at his hologram full of videos. "Computer, play back the video at 8:05pm." A rewind footage came up, showing mini clips of the previous fight. Then it started from when the Pink Angel arrived; a flashing light tore through the spider arm and Cream was taken. "Rewind a bit… pause!" The video paused at the time she was about to pick Cream up, blurred. To sharpen the image, he controlled the settings on his keyboard. The image got sharp enough to see a clear picture of her… face…

_Her _face was there. His smirk grew wider, turning around to see a red hedgehog grinning corruptly at the picture also. "So," Eggman began, proudly smiling at his companion "Is this enough proof for you?"

"Yes, Doctor…" The hedgehog grinned wickedly, "That's my daughter alright."

_Don't worry Amelia… You'll see your father very, __**very **__soon…_

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

_"Sol, have you found Amy Rose yet?" _Blaze contacted Sol, concentrating in communication. She was surrounded by the seven glowing Sol emeralds, and the green shining Master Sol Emerald was floating above her.

_"It appears that she is in the Mobius realm-" _A feminine voice replied, reaching Blaze's mind. The cat growled viciously, knowing that her suspicions were correct. Why couldn't she just stay in _one _place, and do what she was told to do?! _She is so getting told off when I meet her!_

_"-And I can sense that something horrid is going to happen to her very soon."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"The curse on her eye; the curse is going to open soon, and a dangerous amount of blood is going to expel if she gets closer to the vessel."_

Blaze gasped, instantly fading from her telepathy. "Amy, no!" She rushed out of the double doors, running towards the patient silver hedgehog, "Silver, we need to go to Mobius!"

Silver sensed her panic, also slightly getting worked up, "Why, what happened?"

"Amy's over there, and she is going to be in some serious danger if we don't get there fast enough!" Without any time to spare, Silver grabbed Blaze's hand and rushed towards the outside of the castle. "Blaze, do you think you can still try and use the sol emeralds' power to teleport us to Mobius?"

"I don't know… but I can sure try!"

* * *

**_-=-Stronger-=-_**

* * *

Shadow waited tolerantly, sitting on the edge of the island; he had a great view from there. Still, he wasn't just there for the view, but waiting for someone in particular. She was so close, he could almost sense the other chaos energy overpower his senses. Shadow took out the red chaos emerald from his quills, inspecting it. "I need you to help me on this; we are going to show that Pink Girl how a chaos emerald should be used."

His ears twitched by a quiet shuffling of grass behind him, making him smirk knowingly. _Just in time_.

"I guess you knew I was coming." A female voice spoke behind him.

"I know what I need to know." He replied. To see his opponent, he stood up and turned around, looking back at emerald eyes glaring at him. She looked like a tough fight, he could give her that. "But of course you were going to come to me one way or another."

"How do you know that?"

"I've got what you're looking for."

"What's that?"

"The red chaos emerald." He pulled out the red emerald from his back, showing her the prize. She stared intently at the gem, before looking back up at him. Despite the mask hiding her mouth, Shadow knew she was smiling slyly at him – taunting him. He frowned at that.

"Ah, so if you know what it is, why don't you just be civil and simply hand it to me?" She asked, taking her hand out expectantly. Shadow frowned more.

"You know that isn't going to happen. So just prepare to fight one on one."

Pink Angel mockingly shrugged, getting ready in her fighting stance. "I gave you an opportunity to opt out, so don't come crying to me."

_This girl is too cocky, too cocky like him. _The black hedgehog thought spitefully, tusking at her annoying attitude. _I'll make sure to wipe the smug smile off her face._ "Tell you what; since you're so full of yourself, I'll give you the first shot," He got into his fighting stance, smirking "Let's see if you're as good as they say."

'Pinky' easily got angry at his mockery, abruptly running towards him with her incredible speed. She pulled out her green chaos emerald. "Chaos spear!" She called out, flinging her hand across her body. Three celestial glows shot like an arrow towards Shadow. However, he was not fazed. He jumped over the first one, side-stepped the second and ducked under the third – smile still intact.

Amy growled, then leaped up in the air, shooting three more chaos energy towards Shadow. Despite her effort, he swiftly glided away from the firing area, missing them easily. She landed gracefully onto the ground, watching Shadow's every move – including his _damn smile_! "Your turn." She said lowly, receiving a sarcastic glace.

"Oh, are you sure?" She nodded at his question, earning a shrug, "Well, if you say so… Chaos spear!" He chucked several of the spears at the same time, all of them rushing towards her like a lightning bolt. She narrowly dodged the spears by jumping to the side. Her heartbeat quickened from the sudden attack, eyes wide on him. As a reply, he gave her a devious smirk. "I asked if you were sure."

_He's not even trying! _Amy inwardly screamed. She enclosed the anger within her, trying to avoid it going to her head. Now was not the time to vent out; now was the time to fight. With all the power she could muster, she cried "Chaos Spear!" once again and threw many more light needles to the black hedgehog, shocking him a bit. She leered at him, proud for wiping the smile of his face.

Shadow ducked and weaved through the several spikes skyrocketing near him, barely missing each and every one of them from how fast they were – and they were _fast_! As he avoided the last one going straight to his head, he panted a little.

"Chaos dagger!" He heard her scream, glimpsing towards the noise, only to dodge out the way.

Shadow almost got stabbed that day.

He silently gasped at the shining dagger clutched in her hand. That was new. She gave him a cocky smile, pulling the dagger out from the ground and to his face. "Do you wanna give me the emerald now?"

"Never." Shadow immediately replied, tugging onto her ankle. The sudden pull made her fall to the ground, to then wince in impact. Shadow rapidly got to his feet and skated away from her collapsed body. _Maybe I should use Chaos control, to just get this over with._ He turned towards his rival, seeing her up on her feet and running forward again. Shadow brought out the chaos emerald hidden safely in his quills, preparing to use one of his famous moves.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow called out, the world slowing down around him. However, once he looked forward to the Pink Angel, he saw something that – unexpectedly – surprised him.

She was running at a normal pace, smirking at him.

That could only mean… "She can use Chaos Control?!" Before earning a hard punch to the jaw. The punch forced him back a few metres, flinging into the night sky. _MMPH! _His face collided with the ground, skidding along slightly. Nevertheless, he got up like it was nothing, shaking the dirt off his face. To his dismay and embarrassment, he heard her giggle deviously (her flirty accent showing) at his humiliation.

"Oh dear, _Shaddy_." She slurred his nickname under her breath, "Did you think it would just be easy like that; to use chaos control and to hit me whilst I'm slow, right? Well, I come more prepared than that."

"I can tell." He mumbled under his breath, wiping the rest of the dirt off of his muzzle with the back of his arm. "You're pretty good, I must say."

"Why thank you." Amy winked, "I wish I could say the same to you, though."

This made him chuckle "But I thought you had noticed by now, _Pink Girl_…" The way he said her name faltered her attitude, turning her a little serious (and annoyed) again.

"What?"

"Well, if you must know," He walked closer to her, bringing his chaos emerald out again, saying:

"I'm not really trying."

Amy gasped, then huffed in frustration, suddenly making another energy dagger in her hand. She ran towards him at full speed before slashing her dagger wildly at the calm opponent. Her efforts were futile. She only created more entertainment for her enemy, provoking her more. "Why you…" She growled under her breath, attacking him with a kick to the stomach. It was a hit.

Shadow was surprised that she was on target, taking the wind out of him. He crashed into the dry mud, wincing in slight pain from the power. Yet, he still wasn't massively affected by the attack as she wanted him to be. "You know," He spoke, getting back onto his feet, "You remind me of that faker. Sonic, was it?"

"_I AM NOT HIM!_" Pink Angel harshly retaliated, hurling a vicious beam at his head, to which he narrowly avoided. But he was also smirking at how easily she got livid about him. "_DON'T YOU DARE SAY I AM HIM!"_

"Oh, but it's so obvious." Shadow whispered, barely heard from Amy. "I mean, you fight like him, act like him, you even _smell _like him." That particular phrase caused 'Pink Girl' to blush profusely, even if it was hidden behind her hood. Shadow continued "I wonder what got you to smell like him. Something… _intimate _perhaps?"

"You are far too playful than I remembered you to be…" She yapped without thinking. Next minute, she found herself wrapped in the strong arms of her opponent, making her jump from how fast he actually was – despite the fact he _is _as fast as Sonic without the chaos emerald.

"And how do you remember me…?" Shadow leaned towards her, "I don't remember meeting you ever before. So here is my question, just who _are _you really?"

"Pink Angel," She responded heatedly "So don't expect anyone else, you hear?"

"No, you're lying." He hissed, pushing her away again "There is something you're not telling any of us – something that is really important. And I will get it out of you, one way or another." Shadow called out "Chaos Spear!" once more, this time – sending millions of spears rain from the sky.

Amy gasped, running at the last second to save her life. Shot after shot fired down in her range, but she scarcely dodged the attacks – all _but _one; the last shot just caught her in the lower left leg, causing her to cry out in absolute ache and to fall flat on the grass. She gripped her leg harshly, trying to stop anything from touching the wound. It was useless. Her hand would only make the injury burn, like fire stabbing her over and over.

Without warning, she felt herself forced onto the ground, looking up at the sky. Shadow's rocket boot then stomped on her stomach, enough to knock the wind out of her. She struggled to look at him, seeing his blood red orbs stare at her intensely. "Tell me who you are." His tone of voice sent a shiver down her spine.

"I…h-have told you." She coughed, suddenly feeling very weak. "I-I am the P-pink Angel-."

"Don't _fuck _with me anymore!" He roared, scaring her. For once, the Pink Angel was _frightened_ of someone else. "What is this secret you haven't told us about?! How do you know who we are? We may appear on the news, but I can sense you are hiding something more from us!"

"W-what…do…you…want me to say…" She manage to croak. Shadow reluctantly removed his shoe from her belly, letting her breath. Amy tried to stand up, her limbs wobbling out of weakness. "I am…who I am. And I will always be… who I am."

"Why do you need to keep this a secret? I demand answers _now_!"

"If I tell you anything, you all would not forgive me." She muttered, quivering. Shadow narrowed his eyes at her, almost ready to take her down again. She wasn't making any _sense _to him! Why couldn't she just answer him straight forward? "All you need to know is, when the time is right, I would reveal who I am…"

"When would the time be right, Pink Girl?"

"…I don't know." She sadly admitted. Amy never planned a date when to tell everyone she was back. The main reason was because everyone thought she was _dead_. The other reason was because she didn't want to face the reactions of everyone… especially _him_. His reaction would be the worst of all-

She paused her thoughts. The masked hedgehog felt something rumbling in her scarred eye. "O-Oh Chaos…" she whispered fearfully. Her voice cracked in terror, eyes widening at what she knew was about to come. "P-p-please… not again." She raised her voice, staring deep into Shadow's red hues. The look of horror intimidated Shadow as he wondered what was wrong.

_What's going on in that head of hers? _He pondered to himself, getting into defence. He heard her mumbling words over and over under her breath, yet she still looked at him in fright. It was worrying, frantic… _afraid_. But what was she scared _of_ exactly?

Suddenly, her words got louder. "Not again, not again, not again, not again, not again…" Every breath she took was wasted on those two words. She knew it was going to happen. But she didn't want him to see. "Not again, not again, not again, NOT again, not AGAIN, NOT AGAIN, NOT AGAIN! _NOOO!_"

She convulsed abruptly, collapsing to the floor with a loud scream. Shadow only watched her in shock. He saw how her hand went to her right eye, clutching onto it desperately.

His eyes widened when he saw the blood. Flow after flow spat out of her eye, causing a puddle of red below her head. It then started to gush wildly like a fountain, some of it squirting a few inches from her. A trail of gore oozed down the gaps of her fingers; the waterfalls of blood were becoming larger. "N-n-no." She said, barely caught by Shadow. "M-my eye… t-t-the curse. N-n-no…"

She tried to stand a final time, her knees shaking from the force – making sure that the green chaos emerald was kept safely in her suit. Yet, to her dismay, the blood suddenly spewed out again, making her fall down from the amount of blood lost. Abrupt flashbacks of her past horror frightened her, triggering her to curl up into a foetal position on the floor. "N-no. I don't wanna die…No!"

Everything went black.

…

…

Shadow, was shocked and tremendously concerned as to what had happened to her. It was as if her eye suddenly exploded from something. Without thinking, he took her in his arms and prepared to teleport to Knuckles's house, with the help of: "Chaos Control!"

He got there in seconds, walking up to the door in cautious strides. Holding the Pink Angel in one hand, he urgently tapped on the door, calling out for Knuckles. Yet it was Rouge on the other side, giving him an annoyed look.

"What is it you…" She saw the Pink Angel "Oh my Gaia, what did you do to Amy?!"

"What?" Shadow replied, giving her a dumfounded look.

"Look I'll show you once we patch her up, just make sure she's okay!" Rouge beckoned them into the house, dragging Shadow to the couch in the living room. She went into the bathroom to pick up some medical supplies and rushed back to tend to Amy's eye. "It's Amy, alright?"

"…Stop it." Shadow retorted "She has been gone for three years. We all know she's dead. So get out of your own fantasy land and just do your job."

Rouge was insulted. She knows that Shadow gets all sensitive on the subject of Amy (which he will never admit to) but that did not mean he could take his anger out on her. The bat roughly pulled the hood back, her eyes never leaving Shadow's. "Take a _good _look at her Shadow." She angrily ordered, to which he obliged to. The black hedgehog stared at her, trying to ignore the horrible wound around her eyelid. The more he looked at her, the less he believed it was her.

"It's not her, Rouge."

"_Take a good look at her_!" Rouge replied again, earning a hard glare. He then sighed and looked at her.

…The Pink Angel looked like Amy to him.

No, literally, she looked like the _twelve year old _Amy. There she was in her red, old dress and her red boots with those white stripes; her gold bands on her wrist with her white gloves; her short quills and bouncy bangs at the front. She was there!

Shadow blinked – before looking at her in disappointment. The twelve year old had gone, replaced with reality again. This time, the Pink Angel looked like… she looked like _Amy_. "…Rose." He finally spoke, looking at the unconscious hedgehog in astonishment.

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

Sonic gently opened the door, making sure to make as little noise as possible. Normally he would shout when he had arrived but… you know the story.

However, something startling happened.

He walked into the living room, then suddenly froze at the sight of the fox there. Tails was hunched over on the couch, resting his arms on his knees and his hands together in front of his muzzle, as if he was thinking profoundly. But as soon as the ocean blue eyes met with the jade ones, Tails instantly shot upright. What was even more surprising was that a warm, guilty smile appeared on his face – his eyes shining bright.

"Sonic," He audibly greeted, standing up from the seat and slowly walking towards the said name.

The said hedgehog, yet, took every step back every time Tails got closer. _It wasn't supposed to be like this… _Sonic thought worriedly, but a sharp stab entered his heart when he saw Tails's smile falter a little. "Tails," He replied, walking back a lot slower than Tails walking forward. Sonic had two suggestions in his head: Either Tails was going to do something good to him and has forgiven him, or he had not forgiven him and will hit him like a sadist.

He just hoped it was the former… It was.

The two-tailed fox abruptly leapt towards the blue hedgehog, crashing into him in a tight, brotherly hug. Sonic gasped in shock, slightly uncomfortable from the – somewhat – nostalgic grip. "T-Tails?" He choked out, not knowing what to do. But then he felt something slowly drip down Tails's muzzle, and he had quite a good guess as to what it was.

_Tears._

"T-Tails? Why are you crying?" Sonic started to panic, already hitting himself for making his best friend upset. "Did I do something wrong?"

Tails finally softened his grip, shaking his head on Sonic's shoulder (unknowing to him, he was wiping his tears on Sonic's fur), "N-no, you didn't do anything Sonic. I'm just happy you're back… bro."

As if a massive weight got lifted from his shoulders, Sonic sighed in relief before smiling softly at the teenage fox. He wrapped his arms around Tails's back, returning the brotherly hug. After a few minutes of a silent hug, Sonic teased "You know, Tails, brothers don't normally hug for this long…"

It was hushed for a moment, before Tails quickly released him and Tails's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "Shut up." He mumbled, only falling deeper into shame when he heard Sonic laugh. Ignoring the hedgehog's mean chuckles, he walked into the room and turned on the TV, motioning Sonic to come in and see the news. Sonic walked in and looked at the screen, seeing both the Pink Angel and him working together against the spider.

_"-happened in Station Square once again but this time with a twist. Both our heroes, Sonic and the Pink Angel, arrived at the scene at lightning speed. Sonic arrived first, then the Pink Angel arrived second, saving the young rabbit's life. Sonic fought and almost defeated the spider by himself. However, the Pink Angel came back and they both worked together to finish the metallic arachnid of Eggman's. Could this be the start of an alliance? Let's head over to John Sea Lion for more-"_

"No." Sonic remarked, relaxing on the couch. Tails soon joined him, but stared at him deeply.

"Well, she did help you save Cream and all." The fox replied, waiting for any sort of answer. He did receive one, yet it was only a simple shrug.

"She came from nowhere, then suddenly helps me. Now everyone thinks we're an alliance. If only they knew how we're actually rivals."

"…Well, I wouldn't mind if you guys were partners." Tails mumbled in a monotone.

"Wait a minute, you hated her yesterday! What's so different now?" Sonic questioned, puzzled.

"I did hate her yesterday, but I didn't really know anything about her except that she had injured Rouge and came out of nowhere. Now that I think about it, especially from watching the news, she's not as bad as I thought she was. Plus, I owe her my thanks for saving my girlfriend from trouble." Tails explained, deep in thought again.

"…Sonic, what do you think about her?"

"W-what?!" Sonic suddenly stuttered, a pink blush covering his cheeks. Tails paused, then repeated the question:

"What do you think about the Pink Angel?"

"W-well, I-I'm not really sure… heh."

"Oh come on! You've met her so many times, there must be _something _inside your head about her."

Sonic sighed in dismay, then let off a bashful chuckle. "I guess I should know a lot about her since I've met her more, right? Well – honestly – I'm just as clueless as you are. I know that she's flirty, playful yet strong and serious. She also gets a bit sensitive on some subjects, especially power. But, apart from that, I don't know anything about her. She's a mystery, really.

Yet, if you think about it, she's like Shadow. Only a little, though. She's mostly on the hero side, yes, but she is very harsh, stern and determined to fight her own challenges and to be independent. Truthfully, I never wanted to be her rival since I knew she had no understanding as to what it actually _was_; I think she thinks that being a rival means to be on top of each other in everything we do, no matter what. When actually it's to do with being civil to each other but fight for our own self. On the other hand – whether you believe me or not – I am certain that she has a hidden soft side, where she's a lighter and happier person.

She's such a mystery… But I'm willing to discover who she_ really _is."

Little did Sonic know that a small smile etched on his face when he started, then widened every moment. Tails noticed it and he smirked bitterly. _He doesn't even know he's falling in love again… But I can tell…_

"Wow, I guess you know much more than you think you do." The teenager nudged playfully, earning a mocking glare back. They laughed at it for a bit. "Though I think you should consider becoming allies rather than rivals. Maybe she'll help us sometime."

"I told you that she thinks rivalry in a different way," Sonic shrugged, "So it'll be very difficult to persuade her to _join _us, especially since she loves to be independent."

"Alright, but it was only a suggestion." Tails copied his action, shrugging. Silence filled once more (though it was more comfortable than last time) until the yellow fox abruptly said, "Sonic, it's not your fault."

The said hedgehog jumped in surprise, then understood what he was talking about. "I know now."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Cream helped me get through it today. I've finally gotten over my remorse." A bittersweet smile replaced his previous one. As soon as it came, it went. "But the main question is: Have _you _gotten over it, Tails?"

The said fox blinked and he blinked again. Five blinks had past, and he still wouldn't stop. However, Sonic knew exactly what he was doing; he was trying to blink the tears away. "Tails, it's oka-"

The bell suddenly rang, alerting both of them (to Tails's relief). Sonic walked to the door and opened it. To his discovery, he recognised the two faces on the other side. Yet, it was surprising and unexpected to see them there. "Blaze? Silver?"

"Sonic, we have no time!" Blaze panted. The blue hedgehog just realised how exhausted and dishevelled they look. "Where is Amy?"

…

…

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right. Say that one more time, please." Sonic said in a monotone, never once blinking. Blaze scowled at him whilst Silver looked like he was pondering.

"There is no time to joke around! Amy is in danger! Where is Amy Rose?" Blaze asked one more time, harder.

"Amy died three years ago, _Blaze_." His grip on the door was harsher.

"Wh-What are you talking about? She came here before and she's here again-"

"Amy is dead, Blaze." None of them noticed that his fur was darker than normal.

"She's here, Sonic!"

"_Bullshit!_" Sonic spat instantly, earning a gasp from all three of them. "Stop saying that! She's been buried and is _dead_!"

"Could it be that you didn't know, Blaze and Silver?" Tails interrupted, appearing beside Sonic. Blaze huffed in anger and stress. Before she could say anything, Silver grabbed her arm. She turned to him. He shook his head slowly.

Blaze paused, then nodded, turning back to the enraged Sonic and confused Tails. She bowed in apology "I'm so sorry. I didn't know she had passed away three years ago. I had wanted to talk to her one last time… but…"

"It's okay," Tails replied for Sonic, "I'm sorry that you didn't know."

"Well, we'll be going now. Sorry, once again." Silver lastly spoke, turning away. Blaze also turned. She whispered – however – something that Sonic could only catch onto:

"Sonic, if she was really dead… _had you buried her real body_?"

Sonic slammed the door, vexed beyond belief yet his fur was changing to its natural shade again. "Why did she come here saying that?!"

"Like she said, she didn't know, Sonic!" Tails tried to reason, but Sonic groaned in frustration. "Look, now she knows that Amy's gone and so they'll go. Though I wonder what she wanted to say to Amy one last time…"

"…Amy's gone, right?" Sonic asked Tails, calming down slightly.

"Yes. Amy's gone." Tails reassured. That did help Sonic to compose himself mostly... _mostly_. But the question Blaze asked still lingered thoroughly in his mind. They never found nor buried the real body. But if she was still here, where could her body exactly _be_?

…

He wondered if she was still alive.

* * *

**Woo! I'm done for this chapter! So Shadow and Rouge both know that the Pink Angel is Amy, but will they tell the secret? Tails had suspected Sonic's feelings and had come to a conclusion. Will Sonic ever respond? Will Sonic and the Pink Angel ever become allies?**

**And about Amy's wounded eye. I know that only so much blood can come out of her eye, and I think I made it sound like it was ****_more _****than she has in her body. But I will tell you now, her eye ****_did not _****explode, neither did she lose as much blood as you guys think. How can this happen? All will be explained in the next chapter…**

**Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story, also following and adding it to their favourites as well! Thank you!**

**_Thank you to:_**

**_Fantasy Amy Rose Co:_**** I am really glad you are liking it! And you'll find out in the next chapter about how Shadow and Rouge will react once Amy is awake again.**

**_Amelia luna rose: _****I will always continue this story until the very end, so don't worry. And I am glad this is one of your favourites, too! And about Boom! Shots, it will always be in progress unless I have no more sonamy boom shots in my head, which will be a while.**

**_Teaser (Allies in Pain):_**

_"Shadow, Rouge," Amy sniffed, her hand shaking on top of her scarred eye, "I-I'm sorry for all of this, I really am, but you mustn't tell anyone else!"_

_"Amy, if you are out there," Sonic mumbled, "I will always be waiting for you, at home… where you belong… where __**we **__belong; __**together**__."_

_"Why is my heart beating so fast when I am talking to him?!" She whispered harshly to herself, squeezing her chest tightly. She then gritted her teeth in defiance. "Could it be that I'm starting to like him again…?"_


	11. Chapter 9: Allies in Pain

**_Hello my beautiful readers! Coming back again with another chapter! Hopefully, this wasn't such a long break (definitely shorter than I used to do it)._**

**_Oh my… what is that I see? Let's look a little closer… *Looks at the favourites*…_**

**_… 51 FAVOURITES?! OH MY GAWD! I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! Thank you SO MUCH for reading and adding this story to your favourites, I am so chuffed! This also follows up with 52 REVIWES, 40 FOLLOWERS and over 6,750 VIEWS!_**

**_I am literally in tears of joy right now!_**

**_So, as a thank you gift, I have given you a bit of a Sonamy moment near the end of the story…well I've tried to anyway._**

**_Disclaimer (although I never really do these unless the first chapter): Do not own Sonic the Hedgehog and Co. but do own my OC characters (Snowbell, Cherri, Mrs. White and possibly more (Mainly for the population of Solius).)._**

**_Enjoy!_**

* * *

_"Papa!" A little girl giggled happily, skipping around the vibrant meadow. The said father simply smiled in the distance, watching the pink hedgehog gaze at the colourful roses in awe. "Papa, lookie! There are so many colours!"_

_The red hedgehog strolled to where she was, stooping to her level to talk to her. "Hmm," He hummed in agreement "Roses are in full bloom this time of year, just like you." A big hand patted the small one in fatherly affection. She leaned into the hand, laughing in glee. She had always loved Papa's affection since he was the only one to give her any. Her mum was in heaven, along with her younger sister. Daddy said that they were gonna call her Luki – pronounced Lucky – because she had survived a terrible year with mummy._

_Shame it didn't turn out that way._

_The infant must have shown a frown on the outside as her dad lifted her chin to look at him. She couldn't exactly see what his face looked like, but she saw how he smiled at her. "Don't worry, Amelia, we will avenge the deaths of our loved ones when the time is right…." His smile turned cruel for a split second._

_"Just you wait and see."_

* * *

The sunlight tried to sneak into the window, but the curtains blocked the rays well. Yet, Amy had woken up from her past dream. "Papa…" She whispered to herself, slowly moving her right hand to her scarred eye. It was patched up.

…It was patched up?

Memories of the previous night filled her mind, causing her to sigh in defeat. There was no way now that Shadow didn't know it was her. He must have seen her face by now. She just hoped that it was only him who knew about this whole situation. But there was a terrible churn in her stomach that made her think otherwise.

To no surprise, her eyes encountered the black hedgehog in the corner of the room, watching her every move. She tried to ignore his red eyes, groaning when she slowly got up from– when did she get in a bed?

"You're in Knuckles's house." A deep grumble from the corner. She glanced at him again. Nothing different. She averted her eyes. "It's been three years, Rose."

"Don't you think I know that?" She replied in a monotone, suddenly finding him an eye-sore.

She saw from the corner of her eyes how he was gradually stomping closer to her, saying: "I don't think you actually know what you've done to us, Rose." In a dark tone. The same hedgehog received a shrug as a reply.

"Enlighten me." Amy said.

"Stubborn as always, huh?" He retorted, seeing her wince slightly. "You've been profound _dead _for three years. What do you think would happen?"

"…Everyone would get on with their own life?"

"You think we haven't tried that for three bloody years?" To his surprise, Amy turned her head to look at the black hedgehog, vexed beyond relief.

"How am _I _supposed to know what you did and didn't do, huh? I wasn't there to see what you all did for those years I was gone. Instead I was running away from my cruel, heartless, ruthless father of mine which ended up almost getting me killed and having a curse-" She paused midway, realising what she was about to reveal.

Shadow was about to retort until he heard the door suddenly open, unveiling the white bat with an angry glare. "Shadow, will you stop shouting at Amy. She's uncon…sious…" Slowly turning to the bed, her light blue eyes saw that the pink hedgehog was alive and awake. Gradually, she processed the abrupt discovery – she smiled at her. "Why I thought I'd never see the day when you'd finally argue with Shadow. Good job, hun."

"Rouge, now is not the time to make jokes." Shadow retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's a better time than any. Especially since she's back from the 'dead'" Rouge replied, shrugging off his remark. She then walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, inspecting the bandage wrapped around her eye. "Anyway, how's your eye? Apparently it exploded and Shadow had to get you here, you should have seen how concerned he was for you even though he didn't know you were the Pink Angel and…"

The pink hedgehog drawled out Rouge's speech at the back of her head. What really confused, yet annoyed, Amy was that the bat acted like nothing happened; it was like she was ignoring the fact that Amy hadn't been here for a while. Why wasn't she so… concerned or something? She should be quite upset or something… right?

Well, how _can _Rouge act in a situation like this?

Not _normal_, that's for sure.

"Amy? Are you even listening?" Rouge scowled, waving her hand in front of the dazed girl. She jumped a bit, then turned away from her.

"Sorry, I wasn't. What did you ask again?"

Rouge sighed at the stubborn girl, smiled nonetheless. "I was asking where you got your name from."

"…My father?" Amy raised a brow at the supposedly stupid question.

"Not your _real _name; your heroic title. You know, _Pink Angel_?"

"Oh. I got that from a…" She paused. What could she call Jessica? She was the first person she saved in the night, and then the first child. But she felt that she was a bit more than that… _what, though_? "From a…an acquaintance of mine." Yeah, that seemed about right.

"Oh really?" Rouge hummed, "Anyway, about this eye of yours. Shadow said that it apparently exploded and stuff, and yes there was a lot of blood inspected. However, your eye looked like it suffered no injuries, just… blood. Which confuses me even more. The weirdest part about it is that the scar doesn't even look recently opened."

"…"

"Amy, _what's going on_?" Rouge rested her arm on Amy's naked shoulder (At that moment, Amy realised of her lack of clothing).

Something seemed to click within Amy as she turned away from the both of them. Rouge and Shadow were slightly alerted at her sudden movement. They then heard weak sniffles and whimpers from the pink hedgehog. Her hand shakily moved up, aiming for her eye.

"Shadow, Rouge," Amy sniffed, her hand shaking on top of her scarred eye, "I-I'm sorry for all of this, I really am, but you mustn't tell anyone else!"

The said couple blinked in shock, then relaxed and soften their gazes on the vulnerable hedgehog. That was the Amy they remembered; the one who couldn't hold their tears in no matter what the situation was. That wasn't a bad thing, either.

"We won't tell anyone else…" Rouge soothed gently, rubbing her shoulder in reassurance. But Amy shrugged her hand off.

"I mean don't tell anyone else that I'm here; I'm alive." She whispered, barely audibly, "I'm not going to tell you about my scar, or anything else that happened to me."

"Amy, you can't just-!" Shadow was about to retort in anger, yet Rouge put a hand in front of him to silently command him to stop. Shaking her head at him slowly, he grumbled "Fine." And stormed out the room.

"There he goes, going to pull a rage fit downstairs." Rouge sighed, then smiled wryly, "The last time he did that was when you left us."

"Very funny, Rouge." Amy rolled her eyes, wiping the tears resting at the corners.

"I know, Knuckles has told me to be a comedian time and time again." The said bat winked back and stood up from the bed, stretching her arms. "Knowing how you are now, you'll probably leave us as soon as I leave the room, right?"

Amy nodded.

"Well, I'll see you later then… whenever later is…" With a final wave, Rouge left the room – and Amy – alone. The hedgehog's eyelids fluttered, stunned at the surprising conversation that occurred.

_Well, I shouldn't dwell on it. I'm sure I'll see them again. _She thought to herself, absently stoking the gash across her eye. Rouge was right; there were no signs of the scar opening as far as she could feel. She knew that anyway. She's been through it time and time again, never once ignoring the burst of pain that rushed through her eye. "Papa…"

Loving bastard.

Shaking her head from the memories, Amy got up and looked for her clothes and saw them lying on the tall mirror. To gather the items, Amy strolled around the bed and towards the clothing, taking them gently- She gasped in horror. The person standing back at her was different – that was not in a good way.

She took back what she said before, about there being no evidence of the opening scar.

There was evidence…

…Was it her or did the scar get larger?

* * *

Amy hurriedly got changed. She remembered how Silver and Blaze were bound to be looking for her right now in Solius, so she should get there before they suspect her being in Mobius. It probably wouldn't work anyway. As she was about to zip up the front of her suit, Shadow revealed himself from behind the door, walking straight in uninvited. Amy blushed hotly and rotated, her back was in his view. "Wouldn't it be nice to knock?!" She hissed. Shadow only shrugged.

"I thought you were gone." He replied, dismissing the previous comment.

"I am going, yes." She remarked, finishing her awkward zip-up and to fix her cape, "Anything you would like to say to me before I leave?"

"Not much, no." His simple answer was a slight shock to her.

"I heard that you ruined downstairs the last time I left."

"I did, but it wasn't out of rage," He spoke, earning a raised brow, "It was out of guilt."

"What could you ever be guilty for, Shadow?"

The said hedgehog shrugged again, "Probably the fact that you were missing and I never found you."

Amy smiled bitterly. "You still haven't." She spoke before putting on her hood and opening the window. Noting how it was still morning, she put her bandana around her mouth. Without any time for Shadow to question her sentence, she jumped out the window and onto the roof, fleeing away from the house.

_Your Amy is long gone, now._

* * *

**_-=- Stronger -=-_**

* * *

It's been days since Sonic had last saw the Pink Angel.

Although he was pained from the death of Amy, not seeing the Pink Angel killed him way more and he had absolutely no _clue _as to why that was the conclusion. Yet he did not question it. Instead, he embraced the idea of missing her. "It'll take my mind off of things, that's for sure…" He whispered to himself.

Of course, he had seen how his heart beats quicker when he thought about the Pink Angel; her seductive smile, her flirty remarks, her playful attitude – Chaos even her _mean _behaviour seemed to entice him. That pleasurable churning in his stomach was familiar too, not that he liked to admit it.

So where was he? He was on top of an apartment building in the middle of the night in the city. The view was nice but the Pink Angel seemed to be nicer to look at.

That was exactly why he was up there.

He _yearned _to see the Pink Angel again, to talk to her or at least _glance _at her one more time. Plus, he needed – well, not _needed_ but close enough – to ask her if she wanted to join him and the other teammates to be allies. If she were to say yes… he didn't know what he'll do.

Suddenly his mind went back to Amy and he immediately felt guilty. This was sorta like he was trying to replace her, wasn't it? He'd never want to replace Amy even if someone paid him one million rings to do it.

She was just too precious to replace.

Sonic was lost in thought once more, reminiscing about the times Amy was around. He smiled when he imagined her cute grin; her childish pout; her adorable anger. Everything appeared so perfect back in those years. Now it's just… weird.

His mind blinked at what Blaze said those few days ago – how Amy may still be alive. That always brought false hope to Sonic's heart. Now he knew that it was silly.

"Amy, if you are out there," Sonic mumbled, "I will always be waiting for you, at home… where you belong… where _we_ belong; _together_."

…Yeah, what a silly thing to say.

Sonic abruptly sighed, turning his head around to respond to his ears twitching. "You know I'm not gonna scream again like the last time you creeped up on me."

"Gosh darn it!" The Pink Angel playfully slapped her knee in defeat, giggling after.

Chaos he loved the view.

"I haven't seen you for a while," Sonic tried to start a conversation, "How's it going?"

"Well aren't you a bit _too _friendly to a rival, hmm?" The hooded hedgehog eyed Sonic suspiciously.

"_Touché_." He slurred, not bothering to think of a comeback.

"Well you know I come and go. I help people then I leave and do my own hobbies. What about you?" The cobalt hedgehog could tell that she chose her words carefully but did not interrogate her around the topic.

"Scoping out for Eggman and waiting for someone…"

"Who?"

"You." He blurted out. He did not regret it.

Amy stammered on his mini confession, blushing profusely under her bandana. She coughed a little and replied "W-Well isn't someone a bit forward these days…"

"You know you love it." Sonic smirked charmingly, receiving more stutters from his rival. Oh he _so _didn't regret meeting her.

"A-Anyway…" Once recomposed, Amy began to speak, "I'm only here because I challenge you to a fight."

"Alright," Sonic shrugged, "But no chaos emeralds are allowed, since I haven't got one."

"How did you know I had one?"

"I can sense the chaos energy that you possess." Sonic answered. He suddenly had an idea, "Hey, why don't we put a little twist on this battle, eh?"

"Depends what it is."

"If I win this fight, you have to become my ally." Sonic proudly suggested, grinning at her widened eyes. He just hoped she would agree to the terms.

After thinking about it for a moment, Amy replied "Well if I win, I want you to help me find all the other chaos emeralds, including Shadow's." To her amusement, Sonic gulped at her request. Taking Shadow's red chaos emerald without a good enough reason was like calling a death sentence upon yourself.

Sonic thought about it for a good long while. Risking his life for her to be an ally? It didn't sound worth it at all. It did, yet, at the same time. For some reason, this bet seemed to matter to him more than anything else right now, and he wasn't about to let go of that feeling either. "I agree to your side of the bet." Sonic finalised, taking a hand out for her to shake it. She looked at it sceptically, then walked to Sonic to shake it. She gripped his hand roughly nonetheless gently as a physical contract.

The next minute, she was wrapped in the strong arms of her blue opponent.

He breathed into her ear, feeling her shiver under his dominance. "But just let me reassure you," He whispered huskily, keeping the tough grip around her, "I'm not gonna be an easy fight."

"Oh yeah?" She breathed teasingly, she moved her head up so that their nose touched. Their lips were just a few inches away but that didn't seem to scare neither of them. She then moved her lips to graze across his cheek, sensing him loosen his grip a little.

"Neither am I."

Sonic felt his back starkly hit the surface, knocking the wind out of him. The Pink Angel prevented him from getting up by holding both his hands above his hand and sitting on his stomach, making sure he was fully immobilised. "I can already tell what kind of fight this is going to be." Sonic rolled his eyes, "Somehow I feel like you enjoy us being in such suggestive positions when we fight."

"Well you started it." She winked, making sure her grasp did not falter.

"And you used your femininity as an advantage."

"It's your fault for being so weak against girls."

"Oh really?" Sonic drawled deeply, raising his legs in the air. He used all his might to flip up – and Amy off of him – so he could have the upper hand. Kicking his legs out, he twisted himself up and over the masked hedgehog to reverse the roles successfully, surprising her. "Well it's your fault for being weak _overall_, Pinky." Sonic smiled cockily.

"I'm not weak." She hissed in retaliation, trying to wriggle free from his hold. He only chuckled as he saw her helplessly writhe under him like a worm, though mesmerised by her movements. _She's being alluring without even meaning to…_

"Given up yet?" He chirped.

"Over my dead body." She replied, suddenly lifting up her hips. He jolted in shock and she took the opening. Pushing herself from under his body, she jumped up straight and hopped back at a safe distance, watching Sonic compose himself and get into a fighting position. "Told you I'm not weak."

"We'll see." He remarked, charging at her. 'Pinky' complied. The both stopped when they got close and raise their legs up to swing around, equally meeting at the middle. They then swiftly used their hands (Sonic's right and Amy's left) to aim a punch at them. They both collided punches again. The cycle repeated between leg kicks and punches with their speed balanced with each other. It looked as if no one was going to land a hit.

Until Amy thought a snap earlier than Sonic.

She raised her fist rapidly after lowering her foot, being quicker at Sonic in reaction time. The blue hedgehog couldn't think fast enough to defend himself, earning a big punch to the chest which blew him back a bit. He stumbled reverse so he could get back to his senses and fight again. To her shock, he sprinted away from her vision. She snapped her head left and right to try and find him again.

It was too late to look behind.

As she was about to turn around, she got pushed to the ground with a body slamming on top of her quickly. Her hands were placed above with one hand around both of hers. A gloved hand rested on her spine and she felt him sitting on her waist comfortably. Amy struggled yet again to get out of his iron clutch. "Just give up, Pinky."

"I won't give up!" She recounted in determination. She arched her back as much as she could, also raising her leg to kick him in the back. It worked, ending up with Sonic falling onto her and letting go of her. Amy promptly twisted herself so she was free from him and shot into the air, gliding back a few feet from him. Despite landing in grace, she panted heavily at the ongoing duel. She felt herself being weaker a little. That was to be expected.

To her dismay, Sonic hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Gettin' a little tired there?" He mockingly said, crossing his arms in early victory. The Pink Angel, on the other hand, ignored his witty words and wiped the sweat off her head. She didn't realise that there was snow falling from the sky, with one gently resting on Sonic's nose. He wiped it off without a flinch in sight. "It snows in December, doesn't it?"

"Now is not the time to talk about the snow, Sonic!"

"I can tell that you're tired, Pinky. So you might as well give up."

"No!"

Sonic huffed in frustration, stomping towards her. "Come on, don't overdo it! It can put you at risk!"

"I don't care what you say, as long as I win this!" She hissed back, but slid back when he got a little too close. Sonic wasn't having any of that. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, making sure she couldn't wriggle her hand free.

"Look, why don't we just hold the bet off until another time? Then we can fight again when you are fully energised."

The mysterious hedgehog grumbled at his advice. It was like she had given up on a serious battle simply because of _fatigue_. Yet she knew he was right and that there was no way around it. "Okay." She wheezed grouchily, snatching her hand away from his. Sonic sighed before he gave her a pitiful smile. He could tell how much this fight meant to her (but why it meant so much remained a mystery to him) so he wanted to leave it until he knew she was ready. Truth be told, he didn't try as much to fight against her. Instead, he chose to humour her and go along with it. By the first fly kick he could tell what kind of a fight she was thus knowing how it was going to end after a few minutes.

"So how did you learn using the chaos emeralds?" Sonic questioned, trying to make a conversation. 'Pinky' gave him a pointed look, then exhaled in defeat.

"I was taught." She replied, trying to stay secret and brief. Sonic, however, didn't accept that to be an answer.

"Did you have a chaos emerald to use when you were taught?"

"No, not really."

"That makes no sense…"

"Good."

The blue hedgehog decided to drop the topic for a while, knowing that she would say nothing to him if he kept asking her questions. "Why do you always act mysterious all the time?" He whined in exasperation.

The Pink Angel whirled her head to him to discover how he looked so forlorn. It nearly surprised her to see how lost he actually looked, but she tried so hard to ignore the pounding that ached in her heart, as if it were to explode at any moment. She turned back to look at the pretty snow falling down to avoid his jade eyes. "Well I don't want you to know my weakness, right?" She whispered, getting side-tracked with the snow. Nostalgic memories fogged her mind; they reminded her how she used to love the snow when she didn't run away. She remembered especially how Cream tried to make a Sonic snowman but it ended up looking like a fat egg with spikes. In the end they called it 'Dr. Spikeman', a name she knew she wouldn't forget.

Whilst Amy was pondering over the recollection of the past, Sonic noticed her eyes shimmer brightly at the snow, watching how each gentle ice elegantly floated into the hand of his rival. He then saw her jump in cute fright when a tiny snowflake tapped her nose, melting swiftly. "Snowflakes!" Emerald hues sparkled in wondrous bliss, forgetting how Sonic was right beside her to see it all.

Sonic couldn't hold in his chuckle anymore.

Muffled snorts reached ears of the fuchsia hedgehog, flicking her back into reality. To her irritation (and slight embarrassment), the laugh belonged to no other than her opponent a while ago.

Until she realised…

The laugh didn't bother her anymore- not as much. It now sounded like a melancholy melody – as much as she despised to admit it. Her heart was beating faster against her will, alarming her. Familiar feelings started to arise within her stomach; the mixing of butterflies and goo was not a good sign – not a good sign _at all_.

"What?" She jeered under her breath, glaring at him with a death look. One of his chuckled hiccupped half-way, sounding like a small shriek whilst he lifted his hand up in defence. She found that to be her cue to mockingly laugh at him, "I didn't even scare you this time!"

Sonic pouted fumingly yet smiled nonetheless. Her laugh – mocking or not – sounded so perfect in his ears, despite his weak denial. He had figured out that there was something about her that enticed him so deeply, but he didn't think there was anything except _infatuation_. He liked to keep it that way as well; if anything were to go above that level of relationship-

_Amy…_

-That would be betrayal.

He suddenly shivered, wrapping his cream arms around himself as an instinct. "Brr, sure gettin' cold now. Guess that's my que to leave."

The Pink Angel finished giggling a long time ago, with a narrow line resting on her muzzle. She simply turned to him, expecting him to leave. The blue hedgehog sighed in defeat, secretly hoping she would _at least _say something; a goodbye would have been nice. "Well, bye Pinky." He winked comically, before preparing to jump down to the ground.

He abruptly smiled, his eyes shining in happiness.

He was sure he heard her voice…

_"Goodbye, Sonic."_

* * *

"Why is my heart beating so fast when I am talking to him?!" She whispered harshly to herself, squeezing her chest tightly. She then gritted her teeth in defiance. "Could it be that I'm starting to like him again…?"

_No, it can't be… I've only seen him time and time again._ She inwardly slapped herself for thinking such an impossible situation. Even if she was falling for him, she wouldn't allow her emotions to overpower her purpose: to be stronger. _I've still got a long way to go…_

"_Amy…_" A familiar growl was heard behind her, causing her to gulp down the rock in her throat. No use. Facing her fears, Amy turned to look at where the voice came from. As to be expected, it was Blaze – and Silver – in an outraged attitude. "Amy, you are in _so _much trouble right now I am-!"

"Amy, are you ok?!" Silver interrupted Blaze's rant, rushing towards Amy with open arms. Amy gladly hugged the silver hedgehog, trying to ignore the daggers stabbing into her head.

"We were so worried about you! Solius told us how you came here and how your curse was going to reopen and-"

"Solius is right, as always" Amy smiled bitterly, tracing the scarred eye under her hood, "I'm sorry I didn't find you in the last few days; I was just really busy with a few stuff and I was training myself with the chaos emerald. I promise I did try to find you guys as soon as I woke up."

"People think you're dead, Amy." Blaze stated bluntly. The said woman frowned at that.

"I know they do," She replied.

Silver sighed. He might as well tell her what happened a few days ago. Besides, it may get her to tell the full story after all, "Blaze and I went to Sonic's house to try and find you a few days ago. He instantly raged and swore at Blaze when she mentioned how you were alive. In the end we figured out how you must have ran away from them for a while, and then never came back. So then all those times you said you were going to Mobius to 'visit them' were lies, weren't they?"

The pink hedgehog bowed her head in guilt, not wanting to face her temporary guardians. "It's true," She answered honestly, "They were all lies. I'm sorry, but I didn't want to tell you what happened…"

Blaze breathed slowly, placing a hand on Amy's shoulder. "As much as I would like to yell at you for lying to us, we forgive you. Instead, when we go back to Solius, tell us _from the very beginning _what is really going on, because right now all I want to do is get a clear understanding and _help _you."

"We've never found out who put that curse on you, Amy…" Silver thought aloud for a moment.

Amy hesitated, contemplating whether to tell the truth or not. Agreeing with the truth, she said:

"It was my father…"

* * *

**And there we go; Chapter 9 of ****_Stronger_****: Allies in pain. Hope you have enjoyed this segment of the story, since I had tried to finish this after my French exam which was on Monday. Thank you SO SO much for all the support you have been giving me all this time. I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**_And yes, I spell my Pinky with a 'y', I just wanted to ok? ;-;_**

**_Thank you to:_**

**_Sonamylover6822_****: There was no chapter 11, but I think I know what you mean. I had a bit of an accident with the chapters so I had to make a new one then delete the other one. But I will make sure chapter 11 comes soon!**

**_SAgotogether_****: I know right? I'm glad that Shadow and Rouge are smart enough to see it!**

**_Amelia luna rose:_**** Thank you so much for liking this story, it warms my heart!**

**_Jowy's Pixie:_ Thank you for loving the fight scene, it makes me happy to know people like it! And yep, I think I'm glad that I made Shadow and Rouge find it out because gawd it was so obvious! Finally, it will take a while till Sonic figures it out. But how he does, well you're gonna have to wait and see…**

**_Teaser (Papa):_**

_"He is a ruthless, cruel and bloodthirsty father of mine. Yet, he was the only one that grew me up and trained me to be strong. I love him for that…"_

_"He had always wanted me to be a war machine since my mother and sister died during childbirth; he wanted me to get revenge on Chaos for taking our mother away. And, in a way, I agree with his antics."_


	12. Chapter Filler: I Want to Avoid It

**This is a 'filler' chapter, since I am still working on the next chapter (Honestly, I don't know why it is taking so long for me to do… expect that I am making two versions of the story and reading both to see which one I prefer) but do not worry. If I am consistent and find a space in my revision time for mocks, then it should come out sometime June. Promise-ish!**

**Anyway, please don't get angry at me for making this chapter just to make it up to you. It is relevant to the story, yet it's not entirely necessary. More like a… Sonic and Tails moment after Sonic arrived back home. Enjoy~**

* * *

"Honey, I'm home~" Sonic joked as he closed the door. He heard his little brother's soft patter in a separate room – most likely the kitchen. Sonic walked towards the noise, wondering if Tails even made his presence acknowledged.

"I am not your 'honey', Sonic." Even though the sound was muffled by the wall that segregated them, he could still hear the displeasure in Tails's voice, which only raised the humour for him.

"Don't be like that sugar-babe…" Sonic teased, spotting the two-tailed fox looking out the glass back door to the garden. Despite the varnished frost enclosing the view, Tails saw white dots dancing downwards, as if they had put on a dance routine for the whole of Station Square to see. He stared at it for a few more moments, before he spared a glance at the blue hedgehog – nodding his head towards the show.

"Stop being annoying and look at the snow." He said, gazing back at the specks of gentle light, to which Sonic obliged in a second. The hedgehog noticed the two mugs of hot chocolate in Tails's hands after her looked out the door in a heartbeat.

"Is one of them for me?" Sonic cocked his head at the drinks. Tails rolled his eyes.

"No, I felt really thirsty so I needed two instead of one." He gave Sonic his share anyway. The latter chuckled at his sarcastic remark. "I thought you would have liked one after going outside without a scarf… or without anything sans your shoes and gloves, actually."

"Hey, you know me, I always go commando." Sonic winked.

"Ew, no." Tails grimaced, then laughed. Sonic soon joined after, with both of them sharing a light-hearted banter for a few minutes. "Anyway, where did you go?"

"Nowhere in particular." Sonic shrugged – his eyes were distant, "Just sitting on top of a building, looking at the view of the city lights-"

"You saw the Pink Angel didn't you?" Tails guessed with a knowing smirk. Sonic stuttered, blushing a little red.

"W-wh-what?" The latter composed himself, "_Psshh_, nope."

"Sonic, let's not lie now."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can see right through you, idiot. I am your best friend and little brother." The teen replied, then raised a brow with a sly grin, "So, what did you guys do up there?"

"Nothing."

"Haha, I made you admit that you saw her!"

"Shut up." Sonic grumbled under his breath, to Tails's amusement. The former etched a small smile on his face, stroking his gloved finger on the hard glass, "Yeah, I admit it. I did see her. But we fought and then talked. Nothing else happened."

"But it sounds like you wanted something to happen."

"…It's December now, right?" Sonic suddenly asked, changing the conversation. His companion breathed softly, yet didn't go back to the subject.

"Yeah, it's December 10th," He drank some of his warm chocolate, "That reminds me, I need to set up the decorations and the tree, then buy presents for everyone. Sonic, try and remember to buy presents this time round, okay?"

"Alright." Sonic remembered how he was depressed (because of the absence of Amy) for the last three years. But this time, he was sure that he was going to have a smile on his face. He wasn't going to let his friends down anymore. "…What do you think the Pink Angel would want for Christmas?"

"…"

"…Ah!" Sonic's face glowed a bright red, putting Knuckles's fur to shame, "I didn't mean to ask that! L-let's just forget about that question, okay?"

"…What were you planning to get her?"

"_I said to forget about it_!"

"Alright…" Tails glanced at him for a moment before he sipped the rest of his warm drink and walked to the counter. After placing the mug on the surface, he walked to the door again, but opened it wide so that he could go outside. Sonic blinked, puzzled. Tails continued to walk out to his back garden, pacing onto the grass which had a thin sheet of white on top. The snow was much clearer and, surprisingly, got heavier as it fell in the twilight. He shivered – both in delight and from the cold – yet stared in awe at the snow falling gracefully.

He then turned to Sonic, seeing him look up with as much amazement as Tails was just a second ago. "You should come outside." He suggested, opening his hands up to the heavens. He caught many white blotches – they just melted in his hand swiftly. "It's chilly, but it's nice. And it's been a while since we've enjoyed snow together, right?"

Sonic paused, then sighed in amusement. "I just came from the cold…" He joked, but stepped outside anyway. He was used the cold after so many years running in it, after all. His jade green hues gazed up at the night sky, watching the moon shine clearly behind the dark clouds; the moon made the snow sparkle like stars falling from the sky. He was catching the dancing lights for a while, before his ears caught his best friend talking to him again:

"She might want a friend for Christmas…"

Sonic blinked, shifting his gaze to his companion. Tails didn't look back, simply enjoying looking at the snow too much. But he repeated, "A friend, Sonic. Maybe she wants someone to hang out with this Christmas, even though she is quite a hidden person. I know for a fact that no one likes to be alone for Christmas."

The Blue Blur thought about his fact for a bit, pondering. He wondered how she spent her time during Christmas; did she train by herself? Did she just sit outside in the snow alone?

Did she ever hang out with _anyone_?

"I wondered how she spent her Christmases before…"

"Probably alone." Tails stated, "I wouldn't be so surprised if she did. But it could be a nice present for her if she had someone to hang out with. And since you know her so well…"

"I get what you're trying to say." Sonic replied, crossing his arms and looked to the full moon. "I'll think about it. It would be a nice surprise for her and all… But why not everyone? Why me?"

"Well, we've only met her around once – even I haven't met her at all." Tails reasoned, copying Sonic's actions, "But you've met her a few times now, though wasn't a regular thing. And, from what you've been saying and doing, it looks like you both have warmed up to each other. I also think she'll appreciate your company more than anyone."

"Hmm."

"She may also bring a mistletoe if everything goes _really _well."

"Haha, very funny." Sonic slurred with sarcasm, "Sorry, bud, but romance isn't on my mind right now."

"Yeah I get it, don't worry." The fox assured, "…but maybe you should think about moving on with your love for… you know. And I don't mean it like forget her, but maybe just leave room for someone else."

"I thought about doing that." Sonic faced his brother, watching him correspond. He then frowned, looking forlorn, "Tails, I am so confused about all of it. Whenever I see the Pink Angel, my heart beats a million times a minute; I unconsciously smile, taking in her beauty; I always love to tease her to make her mad because I think it's cute. I think about all this… but I've only met her a _few _times. My mind keeps telling me that it's infatuation, but-"

"You think you're falling in love with her?" Tails finished his sentence. The hedgehog tilted his head slightly.

"Half right. I still think it's just infatuation, yet sooner or later – it may turn into something more. But the thing is, I don't want to fall in love with her. I don't want to move on so quickly after meeting this one girl a few times – not even frequently! So I wanted to know if there is anything I can do to change my feelings about her."

"…You've come to _me_ for advice?" Tails raised a brow which Sonic laughed at.

"Knuckles would make fun of me, dunno about Rouge, and Cream has already helped me enough. Plus you're my best friend."

"Well," Tails stroked his chin in absent thought, "When I first had a crush on Cream, I thought it would pass because I basically started being a teenager then. But the more I grew, the more I fell in love with her. And, to be honest… it was a scary thought at first – I mean imagine just having your mind swirled with images of the girl you love time and time again... it's quite a big thing."

Sonic nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, when I ended up realising that I was falling in love with her, I knew I couldn't just shy away from my feelings for so long. Also, it was around the time Amy left us for a while after searching everywhere... I needed as much comfort I could get. So I went to her and – even though I should've expected it – found her in the corner of her room crying her heart and soul out. I then thought '_It's not me who needs comforting…'_ and took her in my arms… It was then I knew that I really was in love with her."

"…I'm sorry bud, but I don't get it." Sonic tilted his head, confused. Tails rolled his eyes.

"What I am trying to say is that you can't control who you fall in love with. Think about it like this: You didn't choose to love chilidogs the way you do now, but your senses really loved the way it tasted, smelt and even looked. You _yourself_ didn't control your senses to love that particular meal. Same with love. You have no control in who you love, but your body and mind does it subconsciously – purely because they 'love' a certain person." He made invisible speech marks around the word 'love'.

"…I think I get it." Sonic frowned, "But that really puts me in a bad place; I _don't_ want to fall in love with her, yet you're saying that I cannot force myself to stop liking her since my body and mind won't allow it, basically."

"That's pretty much it," Tails shrugged, "I mean, another reason is that she must be attractive – or her figure at least, since we don't know what she looks like exactly, so your body starts to become attracted to her. You could always just not see her at all."

"Why?"

"Eventually, your body and brain will 'get used' to her not being there, so you stop having an attraction for her… if it is just infatuation at this stage anyway."

"I won't allow that." The hedgehog scowled, narrowing his eyes towards the white layer on the surface. He just got to know this girl, and he was sure that they were warming up to each other. If he gave up seeing her… they may as well act like strangers again (even if they pretty much do that now). "That's not fair. I've only started becoming friends with her."

"Well then just leave it. Maybe it is just a strong crush for her, and sooner or later your feelings will pass." Tails abruptly convulsed from the cold, "We need to go inside bro. I think I'm about to get a cold from the snow, and Cream wouldn't be happy if I did." He trudged back into his warm abode, waiting for Sonic to follow. When he noticed that the latter was still outside (due to the lack of footsteps), he turned and was about to question him- until the yellow fox's eyes widened.

Sonic smiled at the full moon.

But it wasn't any old smile; it was the warm, heartfelt smile he placed on his face whenever he looked at Amy; his eyes would be full of passion and joy and he would never take his eyes away from her. Amy may have never noticed, but her crush would always return her tender gestures with his earnest, reserved smile – it was for her and her _alone_.

Yet this time, Sonic gazed at the gentle snowflake that fell on his fingertip. He grinned more then blew it away softly, letting it reach the layer of snow that smothered the icy grass. The pools of jade glanced towards the fox inside the house, filled with adoration. Tails gasped silently. _He looks so peaceful… I haven't seen that look for a long time._

_You really are falling in love with her, Sonic..._

"Tails," Sonic spoke like a hushed whisper, "I've figure out what I want to give to the Pink Angel, and I need you to help me."

* * *

**Again, short but a little sweet. Just some heart to heart time between brothers. I am sorry for the delay but just remember I am working on it (I am about halfway with the version two, then it needs a bit of checking and I'll see which one I like best)! I love you all, thank you for waiting so patiently!**

**_Thank you to:_**

**_Ameila luna rose:_****_ I am glad you like this story! I am sorry the chapter is taking so long to come out but it will sometime soon! Also, I really do feel like I've improved throughout the 2 years I have been writing this! Thanks again! :)_**

**_awesomenesstherainbowunicorn:_****_ I am glad you are liking my writing style! And the next proper chapter should show you how Amy has gotten so powerful, but I don't think she's OP... I mean she was beaten by Shadow after a long time and Sonic within a few minutes, so she isn't there yet haha~ :3_**

**_Pura blaze:_****_ Thank you :)_**

**_Faith:_****_ I am working on the more chapters! You see I am a student so it is taking me a while to write these as I am coming up to my mocks, and school work comes first unfortunately. But I promise that more chapters will come out more frequently after my mocks. Also… Psshhh, I'm sure this isn't the best Sonamy fic you have read in a while, but I am touched that you think so! :)_**

**Once again, thank you ALL for reading!**


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